


The Balance of (Id)entity and All(ego)ry

by MsTrick



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alpha Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Alpha Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Alpha/Alpha, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animalistic, Arranged Marriage, Bisexual Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Canon Gay Character, Dubious Consent, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hand Jobs, Intercrural Sex, Knotting, M/M, Masturbation, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Rituals, Multi, Mutual Pining, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Pack Dynamics, Pheromones, Polyamory, Unconventional Families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:34:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25241728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsTrick/pseuds/MsTrick
Summary: Gabriel put so much thought into the power structure he wanted to be wedded to, but it would never so much as cross his mind to consider a relationship with an alpha. AA couples didn’t exist. Hell, their AA friendship was rare enough. In some countries, an omega could claim multiple alphas and betas to form an old-fashioned pack, yet even those tended to only have one alpha. American society was built on OBA marriages.Jack knew he would never be bonded to Gabriel. But no matter how many times he reminded himself of this, he just couldn’t seem to stamp out the tiny wish flickering in his heart.
Relationships: (Reaper76 is endgame) - Relationship, Ana Amari & Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison, Ana Amari/Reinhardt Wilhelm, Jesse McCree & Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Jesse McCree/Genji Shimada, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Genji Shimada, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Comments: 72
Kudos: 211





	1. [ Id ]

**Author's Note:**

  * For [airafleeza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/airafleeza/gifts).



> This fic was written as a thank you to the lovely Airafleeza and is based off her [Dreamwidth kink-meme prompt](https://reaper76-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/537.html?thread=104729#cmt104729) <3
> 
> I also have to give a big chunk of credit to [Keantha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keantha), whose ideas heavily inspired the social structure of this ABO world.

> **Id.**
> 
> The id, ego, and super-ego are theoretical constructs used to describe an individual's psyche. Each is distinct yet interacts with the others.
> 
> The id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind, the dark and inaccessible core of us. It contains sexual and aggressive drives as well as hidden memories. The id is the only component of the psyche present from birth. It operates on the 'pleasure principle' and seeks immediate gratification of any impulse. In the id, contrary impulses exist side by side without cancelling each other out.

* * *

**Oh no! Bitemarks in the furniture! Broken doors! Scared-away guests! If your home isn’t equipped for an unmarked alpha, things can get wild fast. Don’t wait until your child presents to prepare for their future!**

**The Id Center in sunny California has been the highest ranked private alpha facility on the west coast for nine years running. Check out our sprawling oceanfront compound with premium equipment, expertly trained staff and humane management practices.**

**Our state-of-the-art aggression monitoring system guarantees comfort as much as security. And no other alpha facility comes close to our comprehensive matchmaking process. With customized personality assessments, on-hand relationship coaches and private rooms for potential trios to get to know each other, it’s no wonder we have a 100% success rate!**

**Here at the Id Center, we know that unbonded alphas aren’t just their instincts but people with dreams. That’s why we don’t just train them in combat or manual labor but offer them the chance to finish their high school diploma.**

**Give your little alpha the chance to become more than their biology! Call to request a tour now!**

#

Even now, Jack could remember the commercial perfectly.

It was always on TV during the evening, popping up in breaks between the family friendly shows he half-listened to while doing his homework. At least once a week, his alpha mother would say something like: “If you present as an alpha, you’ll get to go there. You’re lucky. Most facilities are basically prisons. Just remember to tell us as soon as possible if you feel any irrational aggression. If your instincts get out of hand at school, you could be sent to a correctional facility instead.”

His omega father would pat Jack on the head. “No need to scare him. He knows.”

Their beta would roll her eyes and remind them there was no need to discuss this until Jack started high school, and then she’d deftly switch the conversation to something about the farm. Unsurprisingly, it was her soothing presence that Jack found himself missing the most after he was sent away.

The Id Center wasn’t quite as glossy as its commercial, of course, and Jack had been anxious when he first arrived, but it became home quick enough.

He had Gabriel to thank for that.

Like Jack, Gabriel did not come from the moneyed elite that filled the Id Center’s halls; they were army legacy. Their alphas remained in the armed forces even after the Center settled them with a family. Being sent overseas without their betas and omegas was enough of a hardship to earn those alphas’ progeny a free ride.

At 14 years old, Jack had been younger than the rest of the batch that matriculated that season. And if it’s one thing teenaged alphas love, it’s an easy target. Gabriel at 17 was handsome, muscular and had a particular hatred of bullies. Had he intervened in the hazing, Jack would have hated him – the last thing he wanted was to be saved by anyone. Instead, Gabriel sneered at the kids his age picking on someone smaller and younger, dared them to prove their strength in a real brawl and beat any challengers into the ground. It didn’t take long for him to convince all the alphas in their batch that picking easy fights was a truer sign of weakness than small stature.

That was, not coincidentally, around the time Jack realized he was gay.

And that he might be hopelessly in love.

Eight years of friendship and one botched attempt at seduction later, Jack was pretty damn sure ‘hopeless’ was the key word there. At least their friendship had survived that mortifying incident. Gabriel had written it off as the lingering symptom of a feral episode and Jack was just grateful that he was able to keep his best friend in his life.

Though he knew their time together was limited and their separation was inevitable, as long as they were both still on the compound, Jack could pretend they could be together forever.

At least until today.

Today was Jack’s first match day.

There was no real reason for Jack to dread this so much – almost no one found a match in their first round of visitations – but Jack couldn’t shake it. It was the same dread that had poisoned him when Gabriel had had his first match day three years ago.

Plenty of their batch had left already, especially the older ones. But Gabriel was…difficult. Despite how virile and handsome he was, the prospective omegas and OB couples were wary of how much work it would be to settle an alpha aggressive and cunning enough to cow other alphas.

Jack was determined to be just as difficult.

Baptiste led their group of four through the compound, a friendly expression on his face and his hand on the trigger that would immobilize them, a silver remote hooked onto his belt. The Id Center staff was entirely composed of marked betas, of course. Betas had level heads and mild instincts even before they settled, and once they were marked, alpha hindbrains had zero interest in them.

The broad windows faced the glittering sea as Baptiste ushered them along carpeted hallways and through a series of locked doors.

“Ugghhhh,” Hana groused. “I wish they’d give us some of our own clothes for visitations. Nothing here fits me properly!”

“Most alphas are not quite so scrawny,” Akande said with a smirk.

“Size isn’t everything,” Hana sniffed. “Plenty of omegas actually _prefer_ more petite alphas.”

Akande laughed meanly. “If you want to be leashed that badly, all you have to do is ask.”

“Fuck you.”

“Hana,” Baptiste warned.

She bared her teeth at them both. Though far and away the compound’s smallest resident, she was vicious, especially when it came to the games they played during combat training. But there was no denying the way even the extra-small Id Center uniform engulfed her. She’d taken to just wearing a large t-shirt as a dress and eschewing the sweatpants altogether. Her behavior-management collar had had to be custom made.

Baptiste turned to Akande. “What arrangement did you indicate as your top preference?”

“The traditional, of course. A female omega and female beta. It’s the ideal set-up.”

Ashe scoffed behind them. “The opposite is far more attractive. I like a ma-b.”

She grinned at Baptiste, who merely nodded his head at the compliment and then posed the question to Jack.

“All-male,” he replied.

“Oooh, really?” Hana asked, eyes big. “I only knew one all-male trio growing up and they were always fighting.”

“It isn’t unusual to see single sex packs these days,” Baptiste said diplomatically. “In vitro fertilization and adoption are sound options for the trios who want children.”

“Well, I certainly intend to have a ma-b and a ma-o,” Ashe asserted. “But I’m gonna run things in my gang. Not gonna to let their fancy-smellin’ hides tell me what to do.”

This was just alpha tough talk and they all knew it.

Omegas ran everything, the women in particular. They were nature’s ideal procreators, instinctive planners and innovative nurturers. Omega females had the most robust immune systems and birthed the strongest children. Little wonder society placed them on pedestals and followed their lead.

Betas were too focused on keeping the balance to push to become leaders and shape the world. Alphas were too mired in their primal instincts, could barely plan ahead, frequently lost control of their emotions and destroyed things, attacked people, fucked whoever would satisfy that blinding animalistic urge.

It was for a good reason that alphas were separated from society until they received a mating bite – ideally two – in order to leash their instincts. The bonds were safeguards that made sure the alpha could behave in public. Technically, the omega’s bite alone could bring the alpha to heel, but some restaurants and establishments barred entry to OA couples lacking a beta. Insurance could be fussy.

Baptiste swiped his keycard and the entrance to the luxurious visitation center opened. He led them to their assigned rooms, where they were each handed off to a beta who would facilitate the interview.

“Hello hello,” Lúcio greeted with a jaunty wave.

Jack grunted, distracted by the unfamiliar space. Lúcio patiently waited for him to inspect the room. It had been well designed, with only two sofas and a low table between them. The panoramic window had no curtains. Nowhere for hostiles to hide. Jack’s rational mind knew that, of course, but his nature still drove him to pace the circuit of the room several times before he took a seat on the pale blue couch.

“Look at you,” Lúcio said, beaming. “You’re gonna do great!”

#

Jack did not, in fact, do great.

The first meeting was over in five minutes. Their scents were inharmonious. Jack began emitting a low growl as soon as the OB couple entered. The omega kept wrinkling his nose.

The second meeting wasn’t much better. This time, it was a lone omega, a lean man with sharp eyes named Maximilien. He directed his questions about Jack’s disposition to Lúcio, hunting for something Jack’s profile might have left out. Tension kept Jack immobile and wary as Maximilien casually strolled around the room, pausing to gaze out over the ocean or to run a critical eye over Jack.

He stopped, gaze narrowing, and pointed to Jack’s neck.

“Is that a _bite_?” He hissed.

“Just a scar,” Lúcio said, eyes finding the pinkish mark peeking out from under the snug behavior-management collar. “He had a brawl with another alpha two or three years ago.”

“And the alpha _bit_ him?”

“Eh, it’s half a bite at most. I can assure you it’s merely a cosmetic issue. The doctors who stitched him up confirmed multiple times that it wasn’t a bond bite and the scar shouldn’t interfere with any future claims.”

Maximilien straightened, a tight look on his face. “How disappointing. I expected higher quality stock from a facility as prestigious as this. I made very clear in my application that appearance was of the highest importance. My public image is integral to my career.”

“Must be a pretty shit career then,” Jack said with teeth.

Maximilien gave him a cool glare and returned his attention to Lúcio. “I highly suggest you deal with this little cosmetic issue if you want any hope of getting this one settled. Otherwise, you may as well put him down. Good day.”

“No need to look so pleased with yourself,” Lúcio chided after Maximilien exited.

Jack _was_ pleased. He felt a childish glee that the mark would be what complicated and prolonged his matchmaking process. The feelings attached to the scar were visceral and secretly cherished, though he supposed it ought to bother him.

Frenzies happened sometimes; it was just part of life on an alpha compound. Many of the Id Center’s residents had entered or were about to enter their prime mating years. They were all starved, their instincts frantic for an omega to soothe the itch. Alpha males were particularly dangerous. They produced the strongest seed for the treasured omega females and their ravenous natures knew it. Ruts weren’t uncommon. What _was_ rare was that the betas running the Center would allow anything to come of it.

At the first sign of a heat, the alpha was sealed into their own bedroom, encouraged to make use of the array of sex toys provided and left to themselves until their pheromones quieted. However, once in a while, the alpha in heat wasn’t isolated quickly enough and those nearby were also triggered. The betas tried to separate them before any knotting occurred – no one wanted to spend half an hour babysitting a snarling, stuck together couple – but sometimes a shock collar simply wasn’t enough to stop a feral alpha.

The frenzy that gave Jack his bitemark had been a perfect storm of circumstances.

Four was the maximum number of residents permitted to congregate in one area, but some schedule mishap or delayed delivery resulted in twenty waiting in the corridor outside the dining hall. A single alpha slipped into heat and in the tight space the arousal pheromones spread like wildfire. Chaos swept over their heads before they knew what was happening. One minute Jack was craning to see the clock on the wall, the next he was waking up in the medical ward.

Sex between unmarked alphas was rough and relentless, a fight as much as a fuck, resulting in blood, bruises and broken bones. It wasn’t so bad when it was a male and a female, especially since alphas couldn’t impregnate other alphas. However, an alpha male’s precum, though plentiful, was barely enough to prevent serious injury if he mounted another male.

While Jack had almost no memory of the frenzy, his body couldn’t seem to forget it. His dreams and his fantasies wove together the scraps. The burning scent of another alpha’s heat rushing into his nose. Hands on him. His own voice in snarls, growls, high pitched moans, yowls of pleasure. The astonishing ecstasy of being filled.

He’d woken up utterly exhausted, his ass sore and raw, knees scraped, voice box completely shot, scratches in his shoulders and hips, and his neck bloodied from where teeth had tried to bite through the collar. He was battered to high hell and more satisfied than he’d ever felt in his life.

Though the doctors didn’t say anything, Jack could feel the truth in his body, in the awareness of absence, in the stinging ache and stretched rim of his asshole.

He’d been knotted.

And damn if he didn’t wish it could happen again.

Damn if he didn’t wish it could be Gabriel.

#

Their dorm was a comfortable enough space, a living room with four bedrooms attached. There was four of everything – mugs, pillows, chairs – all identical except for the color. Everything equal and divided so as not to tempt their territorial natures. Jack’s things were blue, Gabriel’s white. Akande had red and Mako got green. Even their toiletries and assorted sex toys were in their assigned colors.

Since they were all classified as Aggressive When Provoked rather than Frequently Hostile, they were permitted to congregate in their small living room without a beta chaperone, rather than be locked into their rooms every night.

Lúcio escorted Jack back, where he found Gabriel lounging in his blue armchair and reading some Gothic lit novel. Had it been any other alpha, Jack would have snarled at the trespass on his space. Instead, he nudged his shoulder and hip into Gabriel, filling his lungs as he refreshed the exchange of scents – a normal compulsion for family and close friends, if a little odd for alphas.

Gabriel absently nuzzled back while he finished the page he was on, then tossed the book onto the table.

“Figured you’d be leashed and tagged by now.”

“Nah,” Jack said, finally wedging Gabriel off the seat.

Gabriel relocated to his own armchair. “You’re pretty enough to have been picked up on the first day.”

“Not with this thing, I’m not.” Jack jerked a casual thumb at the scar.

Gabriel eyeballed it, several emotions unrolling through his dark eyes. “Plenty of omegas won’t hold that against you.”

“Plenty will,” Jack replied, taking note of Gabriel’s low mood. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re sulky.”

“I’m not sulky.” Gabriel flashed his teeth at him in warning, but Jack just grinned.

“Spit it out,” he wheedled, kicking at Gabriel’s calf.

Gabriel bristled at the contact and launched himself at Jack a split second later, kneeing him in the solar plexus and notching a forearm into his throat. Though coughing and wheezing, Jack internally glowed at Gabriel’s nearness, relishing the heat of his body and the deeply comforting smell of him.

“So, that’s a ‘no’ to talking about your feelings?” Jack snickered, grappling the other man’s arms to loosen his hold. “Your future omega’s not going to like that.”

Gabriel huffed out through his nostrils and disengaged, nonchalantly snatching up the book and returning it to the shelf next to the television. Still sprawled in his blue armchair, Jack cricked his neck back and forth, relaxing the muscles that seized up when Gabriel pounced.

“I’ve changed my mind again,” Gabriel said, pacing. “I think a male O and a female B would suit me better.”

“What happened to wanting the strongest natural offspring possible?” Jack asked.

“Think about it.” Gabriel smirked.

Jack snorted in derision. “Your life strat is based off being able to fuck both partners?”

“Something wrong with that? The beta’s the one tamping down our urges, but if she’s pregnant, the O and I can go at it without supervision.”

“I really don’t get your aversion to being watched over by a B when your instincts are at their most uncontrollable.”

“I don’t know, the idea of fucking while someone holds my leash just rubs me the wrong way.”

“That why you sabotage all those visitations?”

Gabriel shot him a dark look and Jack tensed, ready for another scrap. Though Gabriel’s hands curled into fists, he turned to resume his aggressive pacing. A note of disappointment sounded in Jack; sometimes their tussles ended with them flopped next to each other, easy contact that he treasured. He watched the other alpha pace and tried to squash the impulse to kiss him.

Gabriel put so much thought into the power structure he wanted to be wedded to, but it would never so much as cross his mind to consider a relationship with an alpha. AA couples didn’t exist. Hell, their AA friendship was rare enough. In some countries, an omega could claim multiple alphas and betas to form an old-fashioned pack, yet even those tended to only have one alpha. American society was built on OBA marriages.

Jack knew he would never be bonded to Gabriel. But no matter how many times he reminded himself of this, he just couldn’t seem to stamp out the tiny wish flickering in his heart.

“You could go with a single O,” he said at length.

“Then I’d have to choose between genders,” Gabriel said.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Just get a t-shirt with _bisexual_ on it.”

“Are you trying to tell me to lower my standards?”

“What? No.”

“You think I should accept whatever I can get because I’m too difficult?”

Jack growled. “You deserve to get what you want. It makes sense to hold out for the right fit.”

“Even if…” Gabriel cut himself off, on edge.

He huffed in irritation and continued prowling the room, though remained in Jack’s line of sight lest he rile Jack’s defenses. Jack couldn’t not watch an alpha pacing in aggravation, and so he caught the subtle expression on Gabriel’s face and heard the unvoiced end of the question.

_Even if I remain alone forever?_

The Id Center was more lenient than other alpha compounds in how much time it gave them to find a match. But even it had a limit. Alphas that couldn’t settle were doomed to a lifetime of manual labor or confined to infantry in the armed forces, assuming they weren’t so feral they needed to be put down.

Jack breathed in, holding the smell of their combined scents in his lungs. The honey and cedar tones of Gabriel’s tangling into Jack’s blend of coffee and cut grass. It was unbearably tempting to nip at Gabriel’s neck and kiss his beautiful mouth, to offer himself to ease Gabriel’s loneliness and vanquish that fear of being unwanted. Gabriel would doubtless interpret it as pity, however, and so Jack kept his longing sealed inside his chest.

#

It was going to happen eventually. A visitation that didn’t make Jack want to tear out his prospects’ throats. A meeting that could actually lead to a match. However, he never expected to have two in one day. And just a few months after he started visitations.

There weren’t many male OB couples actively seeking a male alpha to round out their marriage, and at least half those couples were probably scent-incompatible with Jack. He had more or less assumed he’d wind up with a lone male omega or a heterosexual OB pair.

And yet, here Genji Shimada and Jesse McCree were, smelling pleasant and looking Jack in the eye when they spoke. Jack had to admit he liked them.

The green hair and trashy punk fashion couldn’t hide that Genji came from wealth and good breeding. He had the usual self-assurance of an omega but also a playfulness that many of them lacked. His inky eyes ran appreciatively over Jack’s biceps.

Jesse was unsurprisingly laidback and levelheaded, a typical beta in many ways, but an unusual man to say the least, with his cowboy hat and loquacious sense of justice. His drawl was syrup to Genji’s staccato. The two of them bickered and talked over each other. It was obvious they’d be excellent friends even if they weren’t mated.

Jack found himself laughing and enjoying the conversation. Their chill attitude pacified his instinctual dislike of strangers. They didn’t ignore his opinions or speak to him as though he were subhuman. The hour passed quickly.

“You seem nice,” Genji said. “And your scent is very close to what we’re looking for, but I am not completely certain you’re the best fit for us. I would like to keep the option open for now, if that’s alright with you.”

Jack was actually a little disappointed, before he remembered that this would give him more time with Gabriel. This was, in fact, an excellent outcome. It was the most positive visitation he’d had so far.

Shockingly, it was topped by the one that followed. As soon as Vincent entered the room, the ever-present tension washed out of Jack’s muscles and his hindbrain calmed. The omega’s dark eyebrows lifted slightly as he looked Jack over, as though he couldn’t believe his luck. Shy heat rose to Jack’s cheeks.

Their chat wasn’t as vivacious as the one he’d shared with Jesse and Genji, but it was relaxed and easy and could have continued all afternoon. They were both fascinated by American history. Vincent was quite into sports, which Jack could get used to. Jack’s dumb jokes made Vincent laugh.

At some point, the omega risked moving to sit next to him and instead of putting Jack’s instincts on guard, the closeness smoothed them out further. The magnetism was dangerously pleasant. Jack could float away on it, if he let himself.

“I think we could be a good match,” Vincent said, carefully leaning his shoulder into Jack’s.

Jack nearly purred at the omega’s touch, liking how their scents blended, vanilla and pine with coffee and cut grass. Jack could sense how well their bodies would sync, how Vincent would free him from that ever-present longing. Jack felt a low heat beginning to bloom in his groin. He wanted to lay his head on Vincent’s lap and let the omega stroke his hair. He wanted to nuzzle Vincent’s throat until permission to mount was granted.

But the image of Gabriel alone and lonely smashed through Jack’s thoughts.

It wasn’t fair. Gabriel had been struggling for years to find a family; it hadn’t even been four months for Jack. He frowned at his hands, conflicted. It was so unbelievably dumb to throw away the chance at a life with such an amazing omega – he would be a person with Vincent, a mate, not just a beast on hand for protection or breeding purposes. And Gabriel could very well be matched by the end of the month. But the odds were low; Gabriel hadn’t had a visitation in weeks. Jack couldn’t just abandon him.

Lúcio asked Vincent if he’d like to make use of one of the bedrooms available to see if the two of them were physically compatible. Jack had to hold his breath to prevent a pleased whine from escaping his throat. Lust clanged like a gong inside him.

Kicking away his instincts, Jack wrenched himself away with one violent motion and stalked over to the other couch, huffing Vincent’s scent out of his nostrils.

“No.”

Vincent blinked in surprise, visibly hurt and bewildered by the abrupt rejection. Although Jack’s every instinct was crying out for him to apologize and bury himself in this omega’s arms and soothe the rut brewing in his blood, his heart was a stubborn anchor holding him in place. Jack could feel his primal brain encroaching on his rationality, however, and silently chanted Gabriel’s name to keep his body focused.

Vincent could have insisted. It was technically the omega’s choice whether or not a union would proceed; alphas’ preferences could be and often were ignored. All Vincent had to do was ease back into Jack’s space and their compatible scents would turn Jack into a puddle of pliable instincts.

But to Jack’s deep shame, Vincent didn’t push, further proving he was exactly the type of good man Jack could have loved for a lifetime.

Even amicable Lúcio struggled to disarm the awkward situation. He was gone for a long time after escorting a distraught Vincent out.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, man,” Lúcio said when he returned, sounding disappointed. “Thought for sure this guy was the O for you.”

Jack gnashed his teeth and retreated into nonverbal standoffishness. The low burn of a rut persisted, Vincent’s delicious scent lingering on his skin. Jack felt sick knowing he’d never smell it again. He would regret this. He was sure of it. Nevertheless, in what remained of his rational brain, a little blaze of triumph burned. He hadn’t abandoned Gabriel.

Cognizant of Jack’s hyped-up pheromones, Lúcio shepherded him back to the dorm and locked him into his bedroom. Not that the lock mattered much. Jack wouldn’t even remember how a doorknob worked after his mind went under.

#

Gabriel took a drag of his cigarette and let out a long stream of smoke. The salty breeze snatched it away. Amélie’s ponytail whipped around her head until she tucked it into the collar of her uniform. The branches of oaks rustled noisily above while the surf chopped at the shore below. The afternoon sun poured a river of white gold over the waves.

Gabriel sighed. Normally, this view combined with a shot of nicotine infused him with peace, but his rowdy thoughts chased each other in circles. Amélie lit a second cigarette, cupping her hands against the feisty wind. Gabriel crushed the butt of his into the dirt and then picked up the evidence.

“Why are you moping?” the Frenchwoman asked.

“I’m not moping,” Gabriel growled.

Amélie shrugged with a nonchalance that only betas could pull off. And because she legitimately didn’t care whether or not Gabriel opened up, his defenses deflated.

“Look, I’m just…worried. Jack’s going to be snatched up any day now and I’ll never see my best friend again.”

She gave him a bemused smile. “As my alpha would say: you’re taking this very seriously. There’s no reason you and Jack can’t see each other after you both settle and depart the Center.”

“And if I don’t settle?”

“You will.”

This wasn’t Jack’s affection-fueled belief that a good fate awaited Gabriel. This was a statement of fact.

“You know something,” Gabriel said.

“Peut-être.”

His eyes narrowed.

Clipped at her hip was the remote that could activate his collar. She nonchalantly ran a fingernail over the button that would immobilize him, a reminder not to push for more. Amélie would neatly sidestep a rule like ‘No smoking on compound grounds’ but divulging confidential information could cost her her job.

The wind scrubbed the illicit smell of tobacco from his simple cotton clothes and her immaculate uniform. As Amélie escorted him back to his dorm, Gabriel mulled over what she was hinting at. He wasn’t sure if he was comforted or unnerved that the Center had a plan for him, and he was eager to discuss it with Jack.

As soon as he entered their dorm, he knew the discussion would have to wait. Amélie delicately wrinkled her nose and suggested that Gabriel withdraw to his bedroom until the fog of Jack’s heat dissipated. The front door beeped as it closed and locked behind her.

Gabriel stood perfectly still in the quiet living room. Akande and Mako were out so there was nothing to muddle Jack’s scent. The cozy familiarity of it was cut with something coppery, something that clung to the back of his throat like honey, something that dredged memories from the darkest mud of Gabriel’s mind. That burn of roasted coffee and cut grass, a summer morning ablaze with warmth, which reminded him of…of…what?

Of the time Jack asked Gabriel to fuck him?

It was a memory Gabriel had shoved away over and over. Dwelling on it would only complicate things. It had only been a dumb drunken proposition. Gabriel chocked it up to overstimulated hormones, assumed Jack’s starved instincts were straining their leashes. Jack hadn’t been in heat but he’d been feverish and pink, eyes glassy dark in the aftermath of the frenzy that left that scar on his neck.

He’d turned Jack down for obvious reasons. Nothing they could do for each other would compare to the release an omega could give them, so why try? They’d only frustrate themselves. Even if they did, somehow, cobble together a mutually satisfying physical relationship, it could never lead to anything more. No reason to invite inevitable disappointment into their lives.

All that solid rationale had a soft underbelly though. Gabriel loved Jack. Risking their friendship thrust an icy shard of fear into his gut.

Gabriel forced his feet to move, heading towards his own room, but found himself unable to go further than Jack’s door. The cloud of pheromones caught him like a net.

A memory swam in the mud of his mind, just beneath the surface, too squirmy to retrieve. The more he grabbed at it, the more it evaded him. The scent of Jack’s heat seemed to be luring it closer.

Dark roasted coffee, fresh cut grass and…?

Gabriel slowly turned the lock, intending to open the door just a crack, just enough to strengthen the coppery aroma tugging at his memory. It was so close. What the hell was it?

He took a careful step into Jack’s room, even though he knew it was stupid. He was risking his own awareness by doing this. Without an omega’s mark to bridle their primal instincts, alphas were compelled to chase any and all opportunities to fight or fuck. However, the older Gabriel got, the easier it became to retain some rationality – he was sure he could figure out what he’d forgotten and get out before his mind went completely under.

A deep-voiced growl put him on high alert and the musk of a rut clogged his senses.

Jack climbed off the bed and prowled towards him with the menace of a tiger with an intruder in its enclosure.

“Easy,” Gabriel rumbled, showing his palms.

It was always alien seeing someone you cared about held hostage to their pheromones, the traits that made them who they were erased or boiled down to their most basic forms. The blue of Jack’s eyes had been swallowed by a bottomless black. Every muscle was tense, ready to snap, as he sniffed the air around Gabriel’s throat.

His own arousal bloomed, a burgeoning warmth in his groin, but his hackles also rose. If any other alpha was inspecting him so closely, Gabriel’s fist would have broken their skull. But this was Jack. Ferocious but thoughtful Jack. Jack, who cared about people and the world with an empathy often presumed impossible in alphas. Jack, who tasted like—

Gabriel froze.

The elusive memory erupted from the mud, a splatter of images and sensations.

Fury at the hard plastic of the collar clicking against his teeth. Pleasure scalding his entire body, his knot catching fast. The man beneath him squirming, panting, yowling.

He forced his gaze to the scar on Jack’s neck, the thin ridged line of teeth, a failed crescent. That’s why Jack’s scent had a copper undertone. Gabriel’s body had learned to associate it with the tang of blood.

Even though horror dropped like a bowling ball into Gabriel’s gut, his mouth watered and his cock swelled thick and heavy.

He grabbed at the doorknob in a panic, wishing he’d never come in. But his sudden movement triggered a reflexive response from Jack. The blond alpha slammed both hands into Gabriel’s shoulders, pinning him into the door. The snarl was all teeth and pure aggression, but their bodies were flush and Gabriel could feel how hard Jack was.

The heat was creeping into Gabriel’s veins. His thoughts were losing form, melting like candle wax. With fierce resolve, he managed to stymy his descent into alpha headspace.

Jack pressed in closer, trying to bring as much of his body into contact with Gabriel’s as possible. Goosebumps rose on Gabriel’s skin. He clenched his teeth and reached for the door again.

Or he thought he did.

Somehow his hand ended up fisting the fabric of Jack’s shirt, knuckles pressed against the overheated skin beneath. Gabriel swallowed. His very nature was driving him to return to territory he claimed. Guilt lashed him. In his right mind, he would never take advantage of a friend addled by a rut.

But Gabriel had the treacherous thought that he could let Jack take advantage of _him_.

Gabriel’s face burned, the shameful curiosity gold and hot inside him. He tried to remind himself the risk it could pose to their friendship. But Jack wouldn’t remember any of this – upon surfacing, his conscious mind would vanquish it all as swiftly as a dream. And maybe Gabriel owed this to Jack somehow, a way to balance things out. Gabriel’s gaze found the scar again.

Jack was growling and whining into the hollow of Gabriel’s throat, pushy yet supplicating. He nosed at Gabriel’s collar and tugged at it with his teeth, confused by it.

Gabriel shivered. Whipped onward by his guilt and the blaze of his curiosity, he let Jack pull his t-shirt roughly over his head.

Conflicted, Gabriel’s instincts battered each other. He snarled and snapped but only put up a token resistance when Jack inelegantly wrestled him to the ground. Spotting a bottle of lube on the bedside table, Gabriel rolled towards it. Jack took the opportunity to pounce. Gabriel grunted as his chin connected hard with the floor and Jack’s nails sank into the meat of his shoulder blades.

They tussled. Jack squirmed out of his t-shirt on instinct, leaving it in Gabriel's grasp. Though the animal in him growled in fury at being mounted, Gabriel’s heat responded with enthusiasm to the other alpha’s. A powerful blast of arousal poured through him as Jack ground a rigid erection into his backside, breath rapid against the nape of his neck below the collar.

Jack nipped at his shoulders and licked around to Gabriel’s face in messy strokes, loving and needy in a way that made what remained of Gabriel’s rational mind pause. Jack took the moment of hesitation to claw down the waistband of Gabriel’s sweatpants and briefs.

Gabriel started at the press of Jack’s dick against his taint, velvety and drizzling. It was big. Big enough that Gabriel knew he couldn’t comfortably take it without a few minutes of calm preparation, which Jack wasn’t capable of giving him right now.

Gabriel grabbed the lube off the bedside table and snapped his teeth when Jack instinctively slammed his arm back to the ground. Shrugging him off as best as possible, Gabriel squeezed some gel into his hand. He reached behind him and, despite the awkward angle, slathered it onto Jack’s cock, bobbing and hard.

Jack whined and his hips jerked forward, seeking more. Gabriel pressed his thighs together, catching Jack’s shaft between them. Fortunately, Jack’s mind had little capability of differentiating between one tight space and another. Immediately, he began thrusting at a frantic pace, slick and noisy, stroking the sensitive underside of Gabriel’s balls and cock in a way that sent white sparks across Gabriel’s vision.

 _“Fu—”_ Gabriel gasped out, bracing so as not to go face first into the floor.

Jack wrapped a thick arm around Gabriel’s middle to hold him still.

For some reason, that was the line for Gabriel’s instincts. With a loud snarl, Gabriel separated his thighs and knocked the other alpha off of him.

Too dazed and lust-sodden to retaliate, Jack stayed sprawled on his back. His hand wrapped around his glistening dick. Shredded little whimpers clawed up his throat as he pumped.

Gabriel watched with his lips parted and his eyes blown. His own dick was painfully hard, the tip sticky as he pushed it into his palm. His instincts were completely scrambled, his desires as intense as they were contradictory.

Jack’s knot began to swell, catching his frantic strokes. It was a deep pink, the color of a ripe peach. He arched, heels digging into the ground, the muscles of his abdomen taut.

 _“Gabe—”_ He whined, cum streaking over his belly.

Gabriel’s arousal scratched like a record.

Jack was nowhere near lucid. His eyes were black and unfocused. He was panting, open-mouthed and immodest, one hand around his shaft and the other squeezing the knot that bulged thick at the base.

Jack shouldn’t have been able to say his own name, let alone Gabriel’s.

Gabriel snatched up his shirt from the floor and bolted from the room.


	2. [ Super-Ego ]

> **Super-Ego.**
> 
> The id, ego, and super-ego are theoretical constructs used to describe an individual's psyche. Each is distinct yet interacts with the others.
> 
> Where the id just wants instant self-gratification, the super-ego strives to act in a socially appropriate manner. The super-ego plays the self-critical and moralizing role. It aims for perfection and organization, and it reflects the internalization of cultural rules and societal norms. While this helps us fit into society, it also causes feelings of shame and guilt. 

* * *

Gabriel stalked from one end of his bedroom to the other, four anxious strides in each direction, his head a fog of impulses. Jack’s heat had stoked his own enough that beads of sweat formed on his chest, still bare. Despite the sheer panic pumping through his veins, his cock hung half-hard between his legs. The area where his knot would swell was growing more sensitive by the second.

His thoughts were seashells smudged one way and then another by forceful waves.

Jack didn’t know who’d bitten him, unless he’d been lying—No, if he’d known he would have—Could his body have retained the memory—Gabriel could have ruined Jack’s life if he’d gotten around the collar—Gabriel would never forgive—No, it was fine, Jack was fine, it wasn’t a bond—Jack said the doctors—But Jack had whined his name—Because of Gabriel’s scent or because of—Gabriel had bitten another alpha—Tried to mark him even—What was _wrong_ with— _Was_ there something actually wrong with him? Was that the reason he hadn’t been matched? The reason no one wanted—Jack wanted him—No, Jack was only following his hormones to the nearest fuckable hole—But that one time Jack had asked—Jack hadn’t been in his right mind—Copper and coffee—Gabriel wanted it—No, his instincts wanted mistakenly claimed territory—It wasn’t a claim—Jack’s big hand desperately pulling at his own dick, so many luscious shades of pink—God, Gabriel was _burning_ —Why—

Gabriel looked down to where he was crushing the life out of the balled-up t-shirt and realized he’d grabbed the wrong one. This was Jack’s shirt. And it was absolutely soaked with the other alpha’s arousal pheromones and sweat. That was what was making it so difficult for Gabriel to resist the oncoming rut. He needed to throw it out into the hallway _now_.

Gabriel brought it to his face and inhaled deeply. Something slow and hot turned over in his stomach. He staggered to his bed and crawled onto the messy sheets, his breaths short and sharp. Unable to let go of the shirt, he supported himself on his elbow while his other hand shoved his sweatpants down until the waistband cleared his ass. Knees spread, his damp forehead met the bed as he stroked himself.

Had he been in his right mind, he’d have been mortified at his actions. But right now, the only thing he could possibly focus on was the _need_ as blinding and overwhelming as a face full of sunshine. Precum greased his grip and he groaned, unsure if he was remembering or imagining the sight of Jack beneath him, the other alpha’s body hot and squeezing and resistant at first, the eventual sweet give, the way Jack’s insides fluttered and clenched around him, the tight passage stretching to accommodate his knot.

The sensitivity spiked as it swelled, catching his palm with every downstroke and adding to the inferno under Gabriel’s skin. He’d been locked with Jack, knotted him, filled him over and over. Gabriel’s open mouth dampened the sheet, craving the tang of blood. He heard his own name again, that gruff voice cracking into a needily whined _“Gabe—”_

His spine drew taut as a bowstring, the pleasure hovering for a split-second before crashing over him with shocking force. Moaning as though wounded, he collapsed forward and latched onto the shirt with his teeth. His muscles clenched and spasmed as the orgasm ripped through his senses. Warm cum spilled over his knuckles and soaked the mattress beneath him.

Rather than satisfy him, however, it merely took the edge off. After a scant few seconds, the desperate need returned, roaring in like a tidal wave.

#

As soon as Gabriel woke up, the heat hangover hit him like a truck. Of bricks. On fire.

He’d returned to his room before 5pm but the clock on the wall reported a cheerful 7:15am. Both his mouth and his brain were full of cotton. He was _starving_. A headache knocked his eyeballs together. Just above the root of his cock, a familiar soreness was cramping his insides.

He tried to think back, to pinpoint exactly when his mind had been submerged. After the second time he came? Probably? Judging by the ache in his groin, the rawness of his dick and the sopping mess of his sheets, he’d come a lot more after that.

He badly needed a shower. Grimacing in disgust, he peeled away the sheet glued to his skin. Shame jabbed into him like a hot poker when he saw he’d crushed Jack’s balled-up shirt to his crotch. It was webbed with dried cum.

Gabriel rolled off his bed and away from it as though it was a tarantula, frantically wondering if he could just burn the whole bed.

Amélie or Baptiste had set a tray just inside the door with an enormous bottle of water, a bowl of cut fruit and a plate of waffles and bacon. Jack likely had the same breakfast discreetly placed inside his room. Gabriel chugged the water and tried to wrench his thoughts away from Jack. Specifically Jack’s scar.

Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck._

What the hell had he done? What the hell was he going to do?

He abruptly recalled how after the frenzy where he’d—where he’d bitten Jack, an oddly insistent beta in the medical ward had questioned him on what he remembered. He’d answered honestly: nothing. He hadn’t thought much of it, but it struck him now that the Id Center had to know what had happened.

A glacier carved its way through Gabriel’s gut. If Jack’s collar had slipped or if they suspected Gabriel had even a drop of lucidity when he’d bitten, he’d have been tagged as feral. They would have sent him to work in some coalmine or to the frontlines of an armed conflict. Or simply put him down.

That explained why the Center seemed so parsimonious about arranging visitations for him, he thought glumly.

He lingered under the shower spray, feeling adrift and deeply embarrassed and physically sick. He’d always been so proud that he wasn’t some mindless alpha, that he could plan ahead and read people, that he could resist getting dragged into a rut.

But it turned out he was just some dumb animal after all. A perverse one at that. Fantasies about alpha/alpha sex weren’t exactly taboo. Though distasteful, considering that an alpha in rut would fuck anyone they could get their hands on, it wasn’t an uncommon fetish.

But fantasies about marking a fellow alpha? Having urges to mate with one when _not_ delirious with heat? Even seasoned therapists would pause.

Unsurprisingly, Gabriel was cagey for days, quick to bark and skittish about his territory.

Jack also seemed antsy and awkward. He didn’t say anything about finding Gabriel’s shirt in his room and Gabriel hoped Jack assumed that he’d somehow gotten ahold of it while in heat. But even when their interactions were strained or stressful, there was enough contact – rough nudges and shoulder bumps – to keep their natural scents braided together.

#

Residents were permitted to spend up to three hours in the computer lab each week, and Gabriel and Jack aligned their schedules in order to face off in a variety of first-person shooters. Every Tuesday afternoon for the past few years had been spent growling and laughing at each other, trying to kick the other under the table to gain an edge and winding up with their legs casually tangled.

Pleasant routines like this didn’t delete the awkward incident clinging to Gabriel’s mind like a barnacle but did allow him to ignore it.

With a few minutes to spare, they checked their email or the news until a beta came to collect them. Aware of their recent snappish behavior, Baptiste was exuding thick calming pheromones when he arrived. Not all betas were able to trigger their scent glands at will, but unsurprisingly there were more than a few capable on the Id Center staff. Gabriel wondered if they were higher paid.

It was a brilliant spring evening, mauve skies and trees busy with birdcalls.

Pausing at the entrance to their dorm, Jack gave Gabriel a warm yet small smile and a “Good luck.”

Since the weather was so mild, Baptiste opted to lead Gabriel to the visitation center via the outdoor path. Flourishing forsythia dropped yellow petals on the smooth pavement.

Gabriel just wanted this stupid meeting over with. He was tired of being trotted out for visitations that never resulted in anything. Sure, he was ‘difficult’ but if the prospective mate or mates couldn’t handle a bit of a challenge then they certainly weren’t going to be able to build much of a life together.

In spite of Gabriel’s declared preference for a heterosexual couple, this meeting was with a male OB pair. Nothing like starting a marriage by having one’s opinion ignored, Gabriel thought bleakly.

Lúcio met them in the lobby, somehow even bouncier than usual. “Ready, big guy?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. He didn’t bother examining the visitation room for threats. He’d been here enough times that he no longer needed to. Slouched on the light blue couch, Gabriel mulled over how pathetic that was.

Then the OB couple were shown in and Gabriel’s brain melted.

Unless there was some other green-haired ninja mated to some other cowboy out there, this was Genji and Jesse.

Jack’s Genji and Jesse.

And they smelled good. Really good.

Gabriel tried not to breathe too deeply as he scrutinized them. Jack hadn’t mentioned how young they were, early twenties at most. Genji had to have serious money to consider supporting a family already.

Genji sprawled over the couch with an omega’s perception of space, that is, that any space was his if he wanted it. Jesse sat nearer to the edge, elbows resting on his knees as he studied Gabriel from beneath the brim of his hat.

Gabriel returned the stare with mistrust. This would be the person holding his leash.

“I don’t want to sleep with you,” Gabriel said bluntly.

“Well, ain’t that mighty forward,” Jesse drawled, sounding amused. “Who said I wanted your grumpy mug in my bed?”

Gabriel steadfastly kept his gaze on him and not Genji. Old-fashioned omegas found it disrespectful when their betas were addressed before them but Genji apparently took no umbrage with it.

In truth, Gabriel was worried his body would betray him if he looked at Genji. He’d seen the way alphas puddled into puppies with a whiff of a compatible omega, the way their eyelids drifted closed and their limbs went loose like a hungry cartoon floating in pursuit of a delicious aroma. Gabriel had honestly believed he would never experience it. And yet…

Gabriel bared his teeth and asked, “What was wrong with Jack?”

Standing by the door, Lúcio tightened his grip on his tablet. However, to Gabriel’s irritation, a smile spread over Jesse’s face.

“Nothing,” Genji answered earnestly. “We really liked him, but I wasn’t sure if he was the right fit for us.”

“Thinkin’ you might be the reason for that,” Jesse added.

“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked with a scowl.

Jesse closed his eyes and took in a long inhale, his smile widening.

Genji spoke again. “We were discussing how we found Jack’s scent alluring, but I could not quite put my finger on why my instincts were hesitant to go forward. Lúcio suggested we set up a meeting with you. I’m glad he did.”

“Yeah, well, sorry to waste your time,” Gabriel drawled, folding his arms. “I don’t really do sloppy seconds. Trust me, Jack’ll take to being leashed easier than I will.”

Jesse smirked. “Do we look like we’re here for an easy ride? I like a bit of mean in my people.”

Gabriel leaned in to growl into Jesse’s face. “Tough talk, you ingrate. You ever actually dealt with an aggressive alpha?”

“Some,” Jesse said. He cocked his head at Genji without taking his gaze off Gabriel. “He’s got a whole clan of egos in Japan. Aggressive alphas ain’t got nothin’ on the spite of some of them O's.”

“You’re close friends with Jack,” Genji observed with interest. “I didn’t think alphas formed friendships deep enough to scent mark.”

Gabriel was caught between defensive anger at the scrutiny and fizzy glee that this delicious-smelling omega was paying such genuine attention to him.

Gabriel did not want to like these two. Anyone who gave Jack false hope deserved to be shot in the head. But their combined scents were as soothing as the sea, that wash of salt and home, autumn spices and tart-sweet apples.

“Jack’s special,” he finally ground out.

“So are you,” Genji said.

Gabriel hated the way his heart fluttered and told it to knock it the fuck off. He wasn’t getting his hopes up again.

He huffed. “I’d hardly qualify for best in show. If your family’s looking for well-groomed and well-behaved, you’re fucked.”

“Do I look like I care what my family would want?” Genji said, sticking out his tongue to show off the piercing.

Gabriel fought the wave of heat the gesture sent rippling through him. “So, you want a big mean alpha because you’ve run out of other ways to rebel? What are you going to do when you get bored of me? Put me down? Sell me into the Armed Forces?”

Curiously, Jesse lost his cool beta composure. “ _Fuck_ no. We don’t go back on vows. My ma was put down when my dad and beta had enough of her. I’m never doin' the same. If we take you home, we’re goin’ to find a way to make it work because that’s goin’ be the only damn option.”

Gabriel blinked in surprise. For a few seconds, he forgot that he was supposed to dislike Jesse.

“I also intend to have children,” Gabriel said at length.

“As do we,” Genji replied.

“Well, unless either of you is hiding a uterus…”

Genji laughed. “My clan is well practiced in arranging such matters. If one of my beta cousins is up for it, you could even impregnate her naturally, as her scent would be similar to mine.”

“You’re assuming I’ll be able to get it up for someone outside of my bond?”

“Why not? It happens. If it doesn’t, there’s always IVF surrogacy.”

“You’re putting a lot of effort into trying to woo an alpha who has no intention of going home with you,” Gabriel mocked. “You that desperate?”

Genji smiled, a gleam of something greedy in his eyes. “We’re compatible.”

Gabriel shivered and looked away, unnerved at how his blood responded to that word. It felt true, but only an omega could have that bone-deep conviction. Plenty of omegas smelled nice to an alpha but full on compatible? There was always a bit of a question mark. Not that it mattered whether a dumb, mistrustful, animalistic alpha was reluctant. They were expected to adapt to their omega’s needs.

The temperature in the room ticked up. Gabriel grew keenly aware of the metallic click of Genji’s barbell against his teeth, the creak of his leather belt as he shifted, the soft noise of him stroking the back of Jesse’s neck.

“Gabriel,” Genji lilted.

His voice was warm silk down Gabriel’s spine, but Gabriel stubbornly continued to stare at the floor, unwilling to obey so readily. His skin warmed. With a jolt, he realized that Genji had allowed himself to go into heat. It was manipulative, an easy way to coax Gabriel to complying, and it was totally in his right to do so as an omega.

Gabriel’s window for refusing was closing rapidly. He hated how obvious his body’s eagerness was, the swelling erection clearly outlined in his cotton pants. His stomach dropped as he realized he wasn’t going to be able to walk away from this. A compatible omega’s heat was the hardest of drugs and this was his first taste of it. He could feel it settling into his skin, coating his tongue, smearing his vision. It was like melted chocolate pouring over his brain.

He was taking away Jack’s best prospect. And there was nothing he could do to stop himself. Gabriel lifted his gaze and his brittle barriers shattered.

Genji’s eyes were ink lit by candlelight. A sweet pink flush painted his cheeks. His lips parted.

“I want you to fuck me.”

A ball of fire expanded inside Gabriel so fast that a gasp escaped him. His heat bullied its way through every sense and every limb. It was all he could do to not crawl to Genji on his knees.

Jesse traced the underside of Gabriel’s chin with his knuckles, a brazen gesture that could have earned him a broken nose. But Gabriel found himself leaning into the contact, his instincts mollified that this beta belonged to the omega he so badly wanted to please. The need was a meteor shower in his gut. If Genji didn’t accept him, he’d die.

Vaguely in the distance, he heard Lúcio inform them that the bedroom across the hall was available, though of course he was relying on Jesse’s beta levelheadedness to make sure that no bond bites happened during the course of this trial engagement. Jesse said something about having brought a collar for Genji.

The meaning slipped out of the words as Gabriel’s primal brain latched onto the grounding rumble of Jesse’s voice and the tantalizing sparkle of Genji’s pheromones. Then Genji ran a hand up Gabriel’s chest, a possessive stroke from his bellybutton to the nape of his neck, and Gabriel stopped thinking entirely.

#

Gabriel had been matched.

He couldn’t believe it.

There was still the official removal of his collar and the biting ceremony (and Gabriel did nurture some anxiety that Genji and Jesse could change their minds), but he’d been matched. After how many years of failed meetings and disappointment. And it wasn’t some sad last resort match either but a genuine connection.

He’d surfaced from his rut to find himself buried balls deep in Genji, who was asleep and smelling delicious in his arms. Gabriel’s knot had contracted and he was soft, allowing semen to trickle out of the omega’s hole. He smelled so good that Gabriel’s very teeth ached with yearning. He nibbled at Genji’s pale shoulders and the tender skin around the collar. Genji woke with a laugh and stretched like a smug, well-rested cat.

Jesse had been slouched in a comfortable chair nearby, watching with a satisfied air. His presence still unsettled Gabriel. He liked Jesse enough as a person though, so maybe it was possible that he’d get used to the beta’s supervision.

The stars overhead gleamed and glittered as Baptiste escorted him through the compound. Gabriel wanted to run, wanted to whoop and leap. He’d been matched! Genji’s apple-tart scent and Jesse’s spiced desert salt were branded into his senses, and it _still_ didn’t feel like enough. He wanted to rub his body over theirs, to blend their scents deeper. It was like Gabriel couldn’t breathe properly away from them, Genji in particular.

In the back of his mind, Gabriel was dismayed at how quickly he’d fallen. He’d been so determined that his instincts wouldn’t decide his fate; it was almost embarrassing how readily Genji and Jesse had tamed him. But the euphoria sluiced it all away. He pictured Los Angeles shimmering with life and tried to remember what inhabiting the outside world was like before puberty hit and he presented as an alpha. It was hard to believe he was going to get out of this stupid center and stroll the city streets with a respectable pair of bitemarks.

Gabriel suddenly noticed their direction. “We’re not going back to the dorm?”

“With you smelling like that?” Baptiste chuckled. “It’d be less disruptive to send you in on fire. We have temporary housing that you’ll stay in until everything’s ready for your departure in a few days.”

“But I’m going to be allowed say goodbye to people, right?”

Baptiste hesitated. “It’s difficult to predict how other alphas will respond to your fiancés’ scents.”

Gabriel rounded on him, his teeth showing. “Are you saying I’m not going to be allowed see Jack before I go?”

“I can put in a request.”

“And the odds of that request getting granted?”

The beta’s calming pheromones pressed into Gabriel’s senses like a tropical ocean wave but did nothing to warm the ball of ice in his gut. Baptiste’s reassurances fell on deaf ears. Panic had Gabriel in its grasp.

They weren’t going to let him see Jack.

All that worrying that Jack would be picked up and swept off and Gabriel had never once considered that it would be him leaving Jack behind. Or that when he said goodbye earlier that evening that it would be the last time he’d see Jack’s smile. The joy of his successful match withered as it fully hit him that they would be separated. No more casually braiding their scents together. No more competing during combat exercises. No more tangling their limbs during late night talks.

Growling low in his throat, Gabriel clenched his fists, his muscles shucking off the earlier satisfaction and peace. He had to be allowed see Jack one more time. He’d tear this place apart. He’d tear apart anybody in his way until they let him—

An electric tingle looped around his neck and he froze, his body remembering on a cellular level how nasty a full shock from the collar was. Baptiste turned the warning buzz off as Gabriel forcibly calmed himself.

Neither spoke. They entered a cluster of small bungalows that resembled a typical suburban neighborhood and Baptiste unlocked the front door of a grey-roofed one. When he was alone inside, Gabriel gave into the bone-deep craving to inspect the unfamiliar space.

This was a notable step up from the adequate dormitory housing; the Id Center was clearly attempting to impress prospective mates, probably in hope of future funding. The living room housed plush leather couches, flourishing potted plants, a glass-topped coffee table and a giant television screen. The dining table and the bed were large enough to accommodate three people, in case Genji and Jesse wanted to visit again before taking Gabriel home.

Gabriel fought the desire to smash things. While his subconscious hunted for threats behind curtains and cushions, his conscious mind was a whirlwind of schemes.

The next morning, Amélie brought him breakfast along with the paperwork establishing the details of his release. He impatiently glanced at the clauses and conditions, most of them designed to protect the Id Center’s ass if he turned out to be feral or sick, and scrawled his signature.

“I want to see Jack,” he said.

Amélie meticulously organized the documents. “It’s not a good idea.”

“You _know_ me. You know I’m not some dumb sack of hormones that’s going to—”

“How would _you_ react if Jack showed up covered in an omega’s sex pheromones?”

Gabriel blanched, well-aware of how triggered he’d be. He wondered if she knew he was the one who left teeth marks in Jack’s neck or if she was simply referring to the jealousy that their friendship occasionally elicited. Her expression betrayed nothing.

“I just want two minutes,” he argued. “I just want to say goodbye.”

“You can send him a video by email once you’re out and have your own mobile phone.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“Gabe,” Amélie said gently. “He’s not going to want to see you like this.”

“Fuck you!” he barked. “You have no idea what’s going through his head.”

“I know this is difficult—”

“I’ll tell them about the smoking,” Gabriel declared, desperate. “Get me a meeting with Jack or I’ll tell them you’ve been giving an addictive substance to an alpha.”

Amélie’s lips tightened into a thin, pale line. It was the first time he’d seen genuine emotion ripple across her face. Anger. Sadness. Hurt. She stood stiffly, papers in hand.

“I’ll fetch you this afternoon,” she said, pausing to look back at him from the door. “And here I thought I found an alpha I could actually be friends with.”

The day passed at a snail’s pace. A coach came in to speak with him about preparing to rejoin society, reviewing appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. A consultant arrived with two assistants lugging suitcases, and spent several hours assembling a wardrobe for him. It was a little overwhelming after years of thoughtlessly wearing the same cotton uniform every day.

After an eternity, Amélie reappeared and brought him to the bluff without a word. It was a smart choice of meeting point: the wind made it impossible to pick up a clear scent, so no one’s senses would be saturated. Gabriel waited, alone and antsy. Surly clouds grumbled overhead, turning the ocean the color of steel. Damp breezes pushed the tree branches around.

A huge grin broke out on his face when Amélie returned with Jack at her side. Beaming, Jack hurried ahead. The beta hung back, lit a cigarette beneath one of the oaks and watched them with the eyes of a sniper.

Gabriel’s heart soared as Jack flung his arms around him, but before he could properly return the hug, Jack jerked backwards in surprise, a gut-wrenching expression on his face.

“Wait, you… You matched with _Genji and Jesse_?”

Gabriel was taken aback. And angry. He’d thought Amélie would have informed Jack who his fiancés were before bringing him here, but she was clearly done trying to make things easy for Gabriel. Which was fine except that it was also unfair to Jack.

“I’m sorry. It was out of my control,” Gabriel said, reaching for the other alpha’s arm.

Jack stepped out of range, pacing a few agitated steps back and forth.

“This is such bullshit,” he growled. “You knew they were my best prospect. You couldn’t have resisted? Since when are _you_ a slave your instincts?”

Gabriel scowled. “Yeah, well, they’re literally my _only_ prospect after three years and you’ll have others. You didn’t expect me to throw away my whole future just to spare your feelings, did you?”

Jack’s jaw clenched. “Why not? I did it for you.”

Gabriel froze. And then unfroze to grab Jack’s shoulders. “You fucking _idiot_! You sabotaged a match just so you could stay here with me? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Jack tossed his head, refusing to answer.

Horror uncoiled like a venomous snake in Gabriel’s gut. The pad of his thumb met Jack’s jagged little scar as though by accident. Jack began to bare his teeth, but he didn’t pull away. He even seemed to lean into the contact a little. That was bad. That was so bad. Jack should have been snarling before Gabriel’s hand got anywhere near his neck.

Gabriel had done this. He’d skewed Jack’s priorities and Jack probably didn’t even realize it. Gabriel had to tell him the truth. It was only fair. But he caught a whiff of Amélie’s cigarette and hesitated. If she knew the bitemark was Gabriel’s and learned that it was influencing Jack’s behaviour, the consequences could be devastating for the both of them.

He shoved Jack away, disgusted with himself. “I’m glad I’m leaving.”

Fury radiated off Jack, but Gabriel glimpsed heartbreak beneath the glare and God, he couldn’t stand it. He wanted to kiss him, wanted to ease that ache, wanted to nuzzle into the delicious crook of Jack’s neck and inhale the coffee and cut grass smell of him.

But Jack sneered, “I guess now we know why everyone says alpha friendships don’t work. Can’t expect loyalty from dumb animals led around by their instincts.”

“Wow, fuck you,” Gabriel shot back, anger breaking its leash.

Amélie strode towards them, prepared to subdue them both if necessary. She asked Jack if he was ready to leave and he said yes.

“Enjoy the rest of your life, Gabriel,” Jack said in a dull voice.

And then he was gone, the ocean wind stealing the lingering trail of his scent from Gabriel’s nose.

#

Jack felt like the world had been bleached of color and the volume turned down. Nothing was interesting. Nothing really mattered now that Gabriel had left. Jack knew he should have been happy for him, but his heart refused to cooperate. He snapped at anyone who tried to talk to him and tossed in his blue bedsheets at night. No matter how many times he replayed their final conversation, the sharp edge of Gabriel’s joy never lost its sting.

Gabriel had abandoned him, and he’d stolen Jack’s future to do so. All those years thinking their friendship would carry over into the outside world had turned to ash. The betrayal weighed heavy on Jack’s chest. But still he couldn’t help clinging to Gabriel’s t-shirt, the one he must have stolen the last time he’d succumbed to a rut. Gabriel’s honeyed cedar scent faded a little more each day.

Months congealed into a pallid year. Jack apathetically watched others match and depart. He was surly during the visitations the betas made him attend, uninterested in even trying. He knew it was stupid but he just couldn’t bring himself to care.

About eighteen months after Gabriel’s departure, Baptiste announced that a lone female omega had requested a meeting with Jack and that he was not permitted to decline. Jack figured they were forcing him into a heterosexual partnership as some sort of punishment. Though irritated, there was little he could do besides follow the beta to the visitation center. Lúcio took over from there, as usual.

Jack slumped into the blue couch. Lúcio stood in front of him.

“I gotta give you a heads up, man. This is a pretty unconventional meeting. We told this omega that she wasn’t going to find much success canvassing in her condition, but she insisted.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Normally, I wouldn’t have even green-lit this, but if I’m being honest, you’re running out of options.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack growled. “Let’s just get this over with.”

When Lúcio led Ana Amari in, Jack narrowed his eyes in disgust and disbelief. She was heavily pregnant.

Unsurprisingly, after helping her to her seat, Lúcio didn’t go far. She and Jack stared at each other for a long moment, assessing one another, determining the amenability of their scents. Grief tinged her aroma of charcoal and cardamom. She was petite but visibly strong. Her hair and eyes were black and shining as obsidian.

“It’s funny,” Ana said. “The way they spoke about you, I assumed you’d be ugly.”

“How exactly are you expecting this to go?” Jack demanded. “You’ve read my file. You know I’m not attracted to women.”

“I don’t need to sleep with the alpha I take home. And you’re not succumbing to utter rage in the presence of an omega carrying someone else’s child. That’s a good start.”

“I’m pissed off enough about it.”

“I’ll take ‘pissed off’ over ‘actively trying to kill me in fury’ any day.”

“You trying to create a pack or something?” He asked in disdain.

Ana let out a long, sad exhale. “My mates died in a car accident six months ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Jack said with genuine compassion. “That’s awful.”

“It is.” Ana paused, lost in thought for a hard moment. “No one will be able to take their places in my heart but mourning their loss won’t raise a healthy child. For her sake, I want an alpha around, one I can trust.”

It made sense. Babies swaddled by the scents of an omega and an alpha parent – and ideally a beta as well – developed stronger immune systems. Babies who grew up without a robust hormonal environment were more prone to a slew of anxiety disorders and nutrient deficiencies.

“You’re taking a big risk,” Jack pointed out. “Alphas can be hostile to the children of other alphas.”

“The father of my daughter was my beta. My alpha was a woman named Mina.” A small smile graced Ana’s lips. “She would have considered you worthy of respect. She was also particularly cerebral and empathetic.”

“You can’t fail to recognize this proposition is an insult,” Jack said bluntly. “No alpha wants to mate with an omega impregnated by someone else.”

“Do you intend to actually seek out compatible partners?” Ana asked, equally blunt. “Because your profile shows you’ve done a good job of driving away all potential matches.”

Jack huffed in annoyance but didn’t deny it.

“The notes in your file also said you were hostile to the idea of settling down, but I don’t think that’s true.” She considered him. “If I had to guess, you had your heart set on someone and though it didn’t work out, you don’t want to betray their memory.”

Jack grit his teeth and looked away, confirming her suspicions.

“Believe me when I say I understand that,” Ana said gently. “I’m fully aware that this proposal isn’t ideal. I can’t offer you the type of marriage you truly want, but I can offer you a comfortable lifestyle and a family. Obviously, with the condition I’m in, I’m fine with a platonic mating. But that doesn’t mean we need to suffer through a sexless life. With luck, when we’re both ready to move on, we’ll find a male beta we both like and who likes both of us. Does that sound like an arrangement you could agree to?”

Jack wrangled with himself, his primal brain seething while his rational mind tallied up the pros. Several minutes passed before he answered.

“Yeah. It does.”


	3. [ Ego ]

> **Ego.**
> 
> The id, ego, and super-ego are theoretical constructs used to describe an individual's psyche. Each is distinct yet interacts with the others.
> 
> While the id wants instant self-gratification and the super-ego strives to act in a socially appropriate manner, the ego seeks to balance the two while simultaneously satisfying them. The ego aims to please the id's drive in realistic, sensible ways that bring long-term benefits while avoiding the guilt and moral anxiety imposed by the super-ego.

* * *

_Oh God Oh God Oh God_ seared through Gabriel’s mind on a frantic loop. He grabbed at his head, he punched the padded walls until his knuckles ached, he howled, he paced, he checked the window in the door and every single time the beta on the other side made a sign for ‘no updates yet’, Gabriel started panicking all over again.

He knew he had to calm down, but the mountain of emotion rose beneath him again and again, completely destabilizing him. At least this hospital was equipped with waiting rooms for alphas, keeping him from tearing apart the corridors or attacking the medical staff in his sheer, animalistic fear.

He might lose both his omega and his beta.

Gabriel had never in his entire life felt so helpless. While his primal brain raged with self-loathing at the failure to protect his pack, his rational side was distraught for another reason: they’d been married for five years and Genji had never once mentioned that his elder brother was an alpha.

That Gabriel had never been introduced to Hanzo should have tipped him off that something was amiss, but he’d trusted that Genji had told him everything important. And yet, Gabriel hadn’t been informed about this threat to his family. Worse, the threat appeared to have been actively kept from him.

It wasn’t as though Gabriel could have gleaned anything during their visits to Hanamura. Like Jesse, Gabriel knew enough Japanese to get by, but the dense layers of polity, insinuation and intricate, nuanced vocabulary went over their heads. This was a culture where saying ‘yes’ a certain way meant ‘no’. There was no way Gabriel with only a few years of study under his belt would understand half of what the Shimadas hissed at each other over the tense meals they shared.

He was as furious at his spouses for the secret-keeping as he was petrified they’d die. What would he do if he lost both Genji and Jesse? He couldn’t raise Emiko and Elena by himself. Even if he felt himself capable, the state would never grant an alpha sole custody of such young children. He could lose everything. His home. His family. Everything. And Gabriel didn’t even know _why_.

After an eternity of agony, the beta from the hallway poked his head inside to report that Jesse was out of surgery and stable.

The vice around Gabriel’s heart loosened a tiny fraction. He was still frantic about Genji’s condition, but he was desperately grateful that he was no longer at risk of having his daughters taken away. While following the beta to Jesse’s room, Gabriel phoned their live-in helper to give her a disjointed update. She and the twins were sequestered in a hotel room.

Gabriel practically shoved the beta out of the way to rush to Jesse’s bedside and nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw that his mate’s left arm had been amputated from the bicep down.

Gabriel flattened a shaking hand on Jesse’s middle, the comfort of contact necessary to face their horrific new reality. He had never seen Jesse so pale. Bruises purpled his neck and shoulder beneath the hospital gown.

But he was alive.

The rise and fall of Jesse’s chest kept Gabriel calm enough that he didn’t need to return to the alpha-designated waiting room. An hour passed while he just watched Jesse breathe. Jesse’s eyes opened at one point, but he dropped back to sleep in seconds.

“You’re Genji Shimada’s spouses, correct?”

Gabriel whirled around to see an exhausted blonde omega standing in the doorway. Dr. Ziegler. The surgeon.

“He’ll live,” she said simply.

Gabriel nearly staggered as the oppressive weight of his fear lifted from his shoulders. He took a few long, relieved breaths.

“He’s going to need several more surgeries in the coming months,” Dr. Ziegler warned. “His injuries were extensive. What the hell happened?”

Gabriel tried to organize his thoughts. “Several members of Genji’s family were visiting us at home, including his older brother Hanzo, who I’d never met before. I didn’t know he was an A. Genji’s father and uncles disapproved of his lifestyle – living in Los Angeles, marrying Americans, partying a lot.”

“Please get to the point.”

“I wasn’t allowed in the room where they were discussing things. I was elsewhere in the house. I heard screams and came running.” Bile rose in Gabriel’s throat at the memory of their living room splashed with blood. “Hanzo was attacking Genji with his sword. Jesse was trying to fight him off but Hanzo had gone fully feral.”

“The alpha was unmarked?” Dr. Ziegler asked dubiously.

“Yeah.”

“Why wasn’t he in a compound?”

“The Shimadas are a powerful family in Japan. Yakuza, technically. They prefer to manage their alphas internally. And apparently use them as trained attack dogs to keep people in line.”

“You think the attack was intentional? Why?”

“I don’t know. It just seemed that way.”

“You’re sure you had nothing to do with this?”

“ _What?_ ”

“You didn’t do something to provoke this other alpha?” She pressed, eyes hard.

“You think I would do anything that would put my family in danger?” Gabriel snarled.

“As a medical professional, it’s my duty to make sure I’m not releasing my patients into abusive custody. Do you know how many Os and Bs I’ve treated who were brutalized by their own As?”

“He didn’,” Jesse rasped from the bed. “Gabe didn’ do ‘thing.”

Dr. Ziegler’s suspicion evaporated. A beta’s half-delirious declaration was worth more than a sane alpha’s. While the prejudice was familiar, being accused of attacking his own family was a new and painful insult. Gabriel turned away from the doctor to fuss over Jesse, pouring him a cup of water and returning the compulsive scent-marking touches. Gabriel assured him the twins were safe.

Jesse avoided looking at his arm as he laboriously recounted how the Shimadas wanted Genji to return to Japan and expand his pack to include a few women they’d chosen for him. As it was a global norm that alphas weren’t eligible to inherit estates, Genji was the legal heir to the Shimada-gumi. Not Hanzo, as Gabriel had been led to believe.

“When Genji refused to do what he was told, they—” Jesse swallowed hard. “Look, I’d met Hanzo before. For an A, he’s steady as hell. But their father did somethin’. I don’t know, maybe drugged him. Because Hanzo was loopy and high for the whole discussion and then went out-of-his-mind feral in a second flat. He just leapt at Genji. I tried to hold ‘em off and was hollerin’ but the rest of the family vanished out of there. Like they’d been expectin’ this.”

“That’s horrific,” Dr. Ziegler whispered.

“The Shimadas have a private plane,” Jesse added dully. “They’re probably back in Japan already.”

Gabriel felt obliterated, the broken trust shredding his insides. _Why?_ He wanted to shout. _Why didn’t you tell me? You let a dangerous alpha into our house!_

But he wouldn’t unleash his fury on Jesse while he was wounded and bedridden. Whatever omegas like Dr. Ziegler thought, not all alphas were mindless, volatile comets of emotion. Gabriel kept himself well leashed and even managed to thank the doctor when she handed him the business card of a trauma counselling center.

#

Ana Amari had not been lying when she promised Jack a comfortable lifestyle. Her successful career combined with the immense amount of life insurance from the tragic loss of her two mates meant he never had to worry about money. Their house sat high and proud on a hill, spacious and beautifully furnished. Ana bought him whatever he wanted, of course: a hand-carved chess set, leather jackets, hardback copies of historical biographies. Every day, he did laps in their swimming pool, took an indulgent shower and played with Fareeha in the games room after she got home from kindergarten.

Jack’s parents were delighted that he’d made such a smart match, and the glitz of L.A. dazzled them enough to overlook the awkwardness of a stepdaughter. Ever perceptive, his parents’ beta tried to ask Jack what on earth compelled him to set aside his homosexuality, but he dodged the discussion. He didn’t want to think about it, let alone talk about it. He tried to forget her look of concern as they said goodbye at the airport and to just focus on enjoying the life he had.

Nevertheless, no matter how familiar the house or how much he loved Fareeha, it was hard to shake the feeling that they’d never truly belong to him.

She giggled as her vehicle overtook his onscreen, bumping him down to third place. Her feisty competitiveness always plucked a quiet note of melancholy behind Jack’s heart; it was hard not to be reminded of all those years battling Gabriel in the Id Center’s computer lab.

Fareeha finished in first and sprang to her feet in victory, drawing a smile from Jack. Her adrenaline-fueled glee spiked her scent, an adorable blend of cinnamon, hyacinth and mud. Jack’s own scent was woven into it, to his pride. This was his girl to protect and anyone who came near her would smell that.

“I beat you! I beat you!” She jumped on top of him and he pretended to fight her off, laughing.

She stilled as something caught her attention. “What’s that?”

“What?”

“This!” She wriggled free and poked the side of his neck, just above the collar of his shirt.

“It’s just a scar.”

“But it’s teeth.”

“It’s from a fight I had with another alpha a long time ago.”

“Did he like you?”

“I don’t think so.”

“But you’re only supposed to bite people you wanna marry!”

“Well, alphas don’t always think straight.”

“I don’t want to be an alpha.”

“Aren’t you rude?” He joked, tickling her.

“No!” She screamed with laughter and tried to escape. “No, I’m sorry! I like alphas! But if I’m an alpha, I can’t drive a jet plane. That’s all.”

“Fair point.”

Reinhardt’s voice boomed up the stairs.

“DINNER!”

Fareeha whooped and bounded towards the staircase.

Jack took his time following, irritably rubbing at the scar on his neck.

He had begged Ana to place her bitemark on top of it, wanting to be done with the tortuous feelings it conjured up. But she’d shrewdly noted that it would make their lives easier if Jack appeared to have two claim marks, and the scar could pass as a beta’s bite. Every time Jack spotted a sign in a restaurant or store declaring that they wouldn’t serve ‘half-leashed’ alphas, he was grateful for Ana’s decision. Nevertheless, a kernel of resentment lingered.

The delicious aroma of lasagna filled the first floor of the house and although Jack’s stomach growled, he loitered in the living room, reluctant to step into the kitchen and in range of Reinhardt’s large personality.

A regal white cat with blue eyes observed him from a cozy spot on the couch.

“Hey Echo kitty,” Jack murmured, rubbing behind her ears.

She purred and arched into his broad hand. In spite of her affection, she was another aspect of his life that didn’t technically belong to him. Echo had originally been Mina’s.

“Join us!” Reinhardt cried as Jack finally entered the kitchen.

Jack gave a civil nod and thanked him as a plate of lasagna was thrust his way. Ana and Fareeha were already seated at the table, nibbling on garlic bread and talking about what Fareeha wanted for her birthday. The enormous beta served himself last and took his seat. Between bites, he egged Fareeha into asking for sillier and sillier presents, like an upside-down rainbow or a dolphin that could sing in German.

It wasn’t that Jack disliked Reinhardt. Nobody could dislike such a large-hearted beta, and Jack was well aware that he and Ana would never have survived their first year together without him. Barely a month after Ana brought Jack home, Reinhardt was hired as a live-in beta. His pheromones blended with theirs to create a well-rounded environment for the unborn Fareeha.

Jack had no idea how any OA couple could handle not having that third pillar. Everything was just easier with a beta in the family. Betas were balancers, translators, anchors. An alpha could depend on their beta to watch over the family when they were out. An omega would have a spouse able to give them the emotional support that many alphas weren’t capable of.

As Ana’s due date approached, Reinhardt cared for her and Jack when they weren’t able to take care of themselves, their primal brains too high-strung to leave the house or see other people. Even though she wasn’t carrying his brood and was quite healthy, Jack was so hellbent on protecting her, he could barely sleep. Reinhardt’s levelheadedness kept them fed and the house clean and the bills paid.

So, it wasn’t that Jack _disliked_ Reinhardt. It was just that Reinhardt had been hired to be on hand for the first year of Fareeha’s life and now, when the girl was about to turn 6, he was still here.

Jack’s instincts had no qualms about the affectionate touches and warm smiles Ana gave Reinhardt and no qualms about the touches and smiles he gave her in return. But Jack’s rational side drove him to eat dinner in surly silence. It was plain it would be a good move to dissolve Reinhardt’s contract in order to bring him in as the final member of their family – Fareeha was just as attached as Ana, Jack could obtain a legitimate second mark, Reinhardt’s nurturing temperament would balance them all.

The problem was that Reinhardt was very straight.

Ana was aware of this. It had come up when they were first discussing the parameters of Reinhardt’s employment. Back then, neither Jack nor Ana wanted a live-in beta to serve their sexual needs along with the chores. They were both clinging to their memories and caught up in preparing for a newborn baby. So, they didn’t bother to specify. Ana’s feelings on the matter had clearly shifted over the years. Jack presumed that Reinhardt’s heterosexuality was the only reason she hadn’t proposed.

It was only a matter of time though. No omega would prioritize her alpha’s sexuality over her own desires forever. Especially not when a beta like Reinhardt would be so beneficial for her child. The most logical choice was for Jack to be screwed over.

Again.

#

Soft music played over the speakers, blending with the physical therapist’s chipper encouragements.

Genji grunted and sweated, one shaky hand in front of the other on a pair of parallel bars, the dense scarring on his muscles slowing his progress to a crawl. Halfway through, he gave in and sank to his knees, taking the weight off the prosthetics.

So much of him had been rebuilt in plastic and carbon fiber, high quality materials bought with guilt money. Genji’s cousin Ai, the round-cheeked woman who was Emiko and Elena’s biological mother, was secretly covering the exorbitant medical expenses. She couldn’t pay for the rest of their needs though.

The year following the attack had been a difficult one. Without the wealth of the Shimadas at their disposal, they had to move into a cramped bungalow in a shittier part of Los Angeles and trim their lifestyle down to something leaner and tenser. No more lavish house. No more live-in helper. No more luxurious vacations.

Jesse struggled to find the hands-on work he preferred, now that he was down a hand. An autoshop eventually took him on as a mechanic. They paid him pennies, even though he was as adept as anyone with a wrench. To help make ends meet, Gabriel picked up a part-time job sorting scraps at a junkyard. It was dull work and his boss was a lunatic Australian, but the physical labor tired him out in a good way, draining energy he would have channeled into punching their home’s thin walls.

Gabriel felt so powerless. His muscles were no help to managing the logistics of their lives and it was nearly impossible for him to take care of anything on his own. Only betas and omegas could legally hold deeds or bank accounts or driver’s licenses. He couldn’t even register the twins for preschool. Jesse had had to stagger out of bed on a bad pain day and suffer through all the paperwork while Gabriel bristled at his side.

However, the hardest part of this ordeal was Genji.

The carefree, insatiable playboy that had flashed a tongue piercing at Gabriel in the Id Center was gone. In his stead was a creature made of bitterness and anger. His green hair had faded to a sickly shade of bleach and his black roots were creeping in.

“C’mon, suz, you got this,” Jesse intoned as the therapist guided Genji back to his feet.

“Don’t fucking call me that,” Genji spat, voice warped from the implants that held his throat column together.

Jesse winced at the slip-up and sheepishly adjusted his hat. ‘Suz’ was short for _suzume_ , the Japanese word for sparrow and the nickname Genji’s father had given him.

The antagonism pricked Gabriel’s hackles. He checked his watch, impatient though they had plenty of time before they were due to collect the girls from their neighbor’s house.

These rehab sessions rubbed all three of them the wrong way. Genji squirmed over his pride, loathing reality too much to accept it. Hours spent here were hours Jesse couldn’t be at the shop, but since he was the only one legal and physically able to drive the car, he had to tag along. And since they couldn’t afford a vehicle big enough to pack a wheelchair into, Gabriel had to be on hand to carry Genji until the omega relearned to walk on his own.

Gabriel hated how this place with its beta-only staff and soothing atmosphere resembled the Id Center. Because thoughts of the Id Center inevitably led to thoughts of Jack and the list of wrongs Gabriel had done him. He couldn’t help but wonder how Jack would have handled this situation in his place.

“I can’t. There’s no point!” Genji snarled. His legs had given out again.

“I’ll get you some water and we can give it another shot,” the therapist said in an over-cheerful voice.

“You gotta give yourself time,” Jesse said. “You’ll get there.”

“God, shut up, Jesse.”

“Hey,” Gabriel warned. “I know this sucks and you’re in pain, but it’s not his fault.”

“No, it’s more like yours.”

Gabriel leapt up out of his chair. “Excuse me?”

“If you’d showed up earlier, I wouldn’t be like this!” Both of Genji’s fists met the floor.

“Maybe if you’d _told_ me there was a threat, I could have been prepared!” Gabriel shot back.

“Guys…” Jesse tried.

“What kind of dumbass alpha doesn’t assume another alpha’s a threat?” Genji sneered.

“The kind of alpha that trusts his omega to tell him things!”

“You’re pathetic.” Genji had tears in his eyes. “You should have insisted on being in the room with us. That’s what an A should always do. If you acted like a proper alpha, none of this would have happened!”

“Since when do you want an overly territorial guard dog?”

“Maybe I’ve always wanted one. Maybe I just pretended I liked you being all respectful so I didn’t hurt your feelings. And maybe I’m getting sick of it. Maybe it would be worth replacing you with a real alph—”

“Genji!” Jesse barked.

Genji scoffed but stared at the floor in disgust.

All of them breathed hard in the tense silence. Jesse was livid, eyes burning cold in a way Gabriel hadn’t seen before. While betas pouted and alphas sulked at their omegas’ displeasure, both alphas and omegas shut up on the rare occasion their betas lost their tempers.

Acid eating through the core of him, Gabriel stalked out of the facility. Someone else could carry Genji’s self-pitying ass to the car. Hurt and anger clanged inside his mind with the violence and volume of church bells. His hands shook. This wasn’t the first time since the attack that Genji had lobbed unfair accusations at him, but Genji had never threatened to get rid of him before.

It was an overcast, muggy day. Gabriel didn’t know where he was going and he didn’t care. He needed to keep walking. If he stopped and let himself dwell on anything, he’d explode. People eyeballed him on the streets – an alpha alone was a bit peculiar – though when they saw his pair of bitemarks, they shrugged and let him be. He had his tags and it wasn’t like he was acting feral.

Putting one foot in front of the other, Gabriel became aware of something sharp poking him through his jeans pocket. He fished out a business card, not recognizing it for a few seconds.

 _Overwatch? Oh, right, the counseling center Dr. Ziegler recommended._ Gabriel had turned his nose up at the suggestion that his pack couldn’t handle themselves. But at this point, outside help no longer sounded like such a ludicrous idea.

It wasn’t too far from here. Maybe a 40-minute walk. It wasn’t like he really wanted to go, but it wasn’t like he had anything else to do. And for all he knew, he could return home just for Genji to kick him to the curb.

He thought a trauma counselor’s would resemble the visitation rooms at the Id Center, all neutral colors and inoffensive furniture, but Overwatch more resembled an expensive yoga studio. A fountain burbled in the corner of the room. Several cerulean hallways trimmed with golden characters – Arabic? Hindi? – led away from the calm waiting room.

The scent of this place tugged at the back of Gabriel’s mind, made him feel safe in a weird way. He guessed that was what the incense or whatever it was was supposed to do.

The receptionist, a young Chinese woman, sat at a round wooden table rather than behind a desk. A beta, of course. She gave him a welcoming smile before returning her attention to her laptop.

“Oh!” She exclaimed after a minute had passed, looking at him with huge apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry. I was waiting for your mates. Are you by yourself?”

“Is that a problem?” Gabriel was too tired to add a growl to the question.

“No, of course not!”

He raised an eyebrow at her exuberance, and she blushed, introducing herself as Mei. She took his details and asked about his insurance. Gabriel doubted Jesse’s paltry coverage included mental health, but he’d bill it to Ai Shimada as part of this month’s medical expenses.

While he waited for the soonest appointment Mei could book him, he texted Jesse where he was. His beta responded with surprise but didn’t push the issue. Gabriel sighed. Life would be so much easier if he and Jesse had any sort of physical attraction to each other. With Genji out of commission, the lack of sex had been fraying the ends of Gabriel’s nerves until they sizzled and shocked. Once, he and Jesse tried to fuck in attempt to ease Gabriel’s hormones, but it didn’t work out. Though there were plenty of families where all three spouses had intercourse, for Jesse and Gabriel, this was simply not how their primal brains perceived their connection.

“That sounds like a very challenging situation,” Siebren said, studying Gabriel over the top of his glasses.

Gabriel had never met an omega with a doctorate who insisted an alpha call them by their first name.

“Yeah,” Gabriel intoned.

“Do you find yourself struggling to control your rutting instinct?”

“Not really. I was already pretty good at managing it even in the cesspool of hormones that is a compound of unmarked alphas.”

“Were you ever triggered into a frenzy?”

“Sure, once or twice.”

“And since leaving the Id Center?

“Genji’s heat can send me into a frenzy. But, like I said, his body’s…The last time he went into heat was over a year ago and I don’t know when he’ll be back in a physical or mental state where he’ll want sex. And even when that does happen, he’ll probably only be able to sleep with Jesse, since Jesse’s able to be gentle. I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do.”

“I understand your frustration. Sex is an integral part of any marriage. It helps us feel fulfilled in our roles.”

“Yeah.” Gabriel let out a long sigh. “I want to be strong enough for all three of us, but I don’t know how long I can keep this up.”

“It’s a nice sentiment,” Siebren said kindly, “but it’s impossible for you to ‘be strong for someone else’. We each need to find our own strength to rely on. No one can fulfil the role of an O, A _and_ B at the same time. The three brackets interact with each other, affect each other, rely on each other – but they are distinct.”

“The good, the bad and the ugly.”

“Personally, I prefer the parallel to a person’s id, ego and super-ego. You alphas obviously represent the id, the animal in us, the part ruled by instinctive desires, the most passionate and indomitable part of us that needs external restraint to thrive. Omegas are the super-ego, the moral and organized center, the critical eye that raises humanity to the best it can be. And the betas are the ego, the realistic and calm mediators who keep the balance. No one could expect a single person to wield the strengths of all the brackets, much like we can’t expect our kidneys to suddenly take on the role of our lungs.”

“So, what do you expect me to do?” Gabriel said, getting annoyed.

“It’s not my expectations that are important here.”

“Everything’s falling apart. And I still don’t know why! I don’t understand why I wasn’t told everything. I mean, Jesse’s explained it, sort of. The Shimadas had weird rules about things. But I still don’t understand why this had to happen.”

“There is no obligation for the universe to make sense to you, but that doesn’t mean the incomprehensible is against you. In my experience, I’ve found that the universe often gives us what we need, even if it’s not what we want or even if it seems awful in the moment. As unpleasant as this situation is, it is also an opportunity to become stronger.”

“Why?” Gabriel muttered. “I already failed at being an alpha.”

“Question that thought,” Siebren said, almost sounding amused. “How could anyone fail at being themselves?”

“Alphas are meant to keep their families safe. Genji’s right. I should have insisted on being at that meeting.”

“It might have changed nothing,” Siebren noted.

“It might have changed everything,” Gabriel countered.

Siebren shrugged. “But we’ll never know. We must deal with the reality in front of us. You are still your family’s alpha. Our society, your mates and even you yourself may have very specific ideas about what that is meant to look like, but in truth, there is no wrong way to be an alpha and there is no action you can take that would somehow undo your alpha-ness.”

By the time Gabriel left Overwatch, he felt like an invisible weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He scheduled a second session with Siebren for a few weeks later.

#

The morning sunshine drenched the patio and glittered hard off the surface of the swimming pool. Echo yawned from her comfy napping spot on a chaise-longue, her sleek tail swishing. Jack was crouched down, repotting a succulent that had grown too large for its original pot, when his phone rang. He hastily wiped a hand on his jeans before answering.

“Did you forget something?” He asked. There weren’t many reasons for Ana to call at the beginning of a workday.

“A green folder on my desk, I think,” she sighed. “Can you check?”

He maneuvered around to the window to her office and peered inside.

“Yep, right in the middle of it.”

“I need it by noon but I’m interviewing potential new hires straight through ‘til then. I hate to ask, but could you bring it to me? Reinhardt said he and Fareeha were going to be stuck at the dentist’s for at least another hour.”

“Sure thing,” Jack said.

“Thank you, kitten.”

Ana’s workplace was 25 minutes away by bicycle. Jack changed from a t-shirt to a Henley that revealed the scars on either side of his neck and made sure not to go too fast, lest someone stop him and demand to know what a lone alpha was doing careening through the streets. The sky was crisp and blue overhead, but wispy clouds fogged the sunlight by the time Jack wheeled into the Overwatch parking lot with one hand on the bars and the file in the other.

“Hi Jack!” Mei chirped. “Ana said to just leave it in her office.”

He nodded to her and headed down the correct hallway. Ana’s office was a pleasant space with two loveseats facing each other and a small desk in the back corner. Gauzy purple curtains covered the large window, offsetting the indigo walls. Dropping the file on the desk, Jack huffed to clear his nostrils of the ever-present patchouli incense and returned to the empty hallway.

Halfway through the door, he froze, his heart a balloon in his throat.

A desperately familiar scent reached his nose. A scent that had once been inseparable from his own. Honey and cedar, now edged with a bit of spice and salt that Jack attributed to Genji and Jesse. He gripped the doorjamb for support, eyes closing involuntarily as he sucked in deep breaths, trying to hold on to even the chance that Gabriel was here. Was it possible? Could he really be—?

A door opened, the scent spiked, Jack’s eyes flew open and there he was, staring back at him in astonishment.

Jack’s pulse thudded through his veins at the power the other alpha exuded. God, he looked good. He’d buzzed his hair and his beard was trimmed closer to his skin. He was in dark jeans that clung to his thighs. The worn grey hoodie couldn’t hide that his arms were still lusciously thick and his waist still slim. It was strange to see him without a collar.

Dr. Siebren de Kuiper stepped out of his office after Gabriel. “Ah, Jack! Good to see you again. Meeting Ana for lunch?”

Embarrassment knifed down Jack’s spine. He dodged Gabriel’s disbelieving gaze by forcing himself to look at the tall omega. “No, uh, just dropping something off for her.”

“Very good, very good,” Siebren said amicably. “She’s lucky to have an A like you. I can hardly let mine out of the house unsupervised. Anyway, I must run to grab a bite before my next client arrives. Gabriel, do speak with Mei about scheduling our next appointment. Tot ziens!”

A more perceptive omega wouldn’t have risked leaving two visibly tense alphas alone in a hallway, but Siebren had always been a bit absentminded. He didn’t even seem to notice Gabriel’s unwavering scrutiny of Jack.

A taut few seconds after the psychologist had vanished into the reception area, Gabriel finally spoke.

“You have a female O? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Jack bristled, instantly defensive. “Not really any of your business, is it?”

“Why would you accept that?”

Jack wryly shook his head. “How are Genji and Jesse? Considering you’re here without them, I’m guessing they’ve been better.”

“Leave them out of this,” Gabriel growled.

“Oh, it’s only _you_ who gets to cast judgement on mate selection? At least my choice didn’t ruin anyone else’s life.”

“Just your own? Why the hell would you do that to yourself?”

“What the hell do you care?” Jack spat, sounding more bitter than he intended. “You were glad to leave me behind.”

A furious glare settled on Gabriel’s face. He was reeling. He could never have imagined a ray of sunshine like Jack – who still looked every inch the handsome, strong golden boy of the Id Center – could wind up in such a joyless marriage.

After a quick glance up and down the hallway, he pushed Jack backwards into the office he’d emerged from, catching him by surprise, and closed the door behind them.

Hostile at being cornered, Jack opened his mouth to object when Gabriel cut him off.

“Yeah, I _was_ glad to leave,” Gabriel snapped. “You know why?”

“Because you’re a prick who only thinks of himself?”

“Because I was fucking up your life!”

“That what you tell yourself?” Jack sneered.

“You sabotaged visitations to stay with me! I expected you to realize after I left how absolutely idiotic that was and that you’d find some nice male OB couple to take you in, or a male O at the very least, not—not _settle_ for some bullshit hetero situation.”

“That bullshit hetero situation is my marriage, so watch it.”

“Why?” Gabriel demanded, almost pleaded. “Why the fuck wouldn’t you go after what you actually wanted?”

An odd blush rose to Jack’s cheeks. He worked his jaw in defiant silence.

Gabriel’s shoulders sagged in dismay.

“You can’t,” he said. “You _can’t_ still want me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Jack tossed off. “I only asked you to fuck me once because I was horny and you were there.”

Gabriel stared at him, conflicted, wanting to believe that but remembering in technicolor detail how even lost in the depths of his primal subconscious, Jack had moaned his name. Gabriel had so badly hoped that leaving the Center would free Jack from their ruinous bond, and if that didn’t do it, that one of Jack’s future mates would overwrite—

Gabriel’s eyes widened. He grabbed at Jack’s shoulder to examine his neck and was shocked to find that what he’d assumed was a beta’s bite was actually the incomplete crescent left by his own teeth.

Jack wrenched himself free. “What the hell, Gabe?”

“Why didn’t your O overlay her mark on it?”

“Better optics.”

“You don’t have a beta?”

“What? Going to judge me for that too?”

Gabriel rubbed his hands over his face. “Shit shit _shit_. This is all my fault.”

“What are you talking about?”

Gabriel shut his eyes, as though in pain, mind racing a mile a minute. He caught the back of Jack’s head and dragged him in until his mouth hovered by Jack’s ear. Jack tensed and resisted, the proximity overwhelming.

“It’s mine,” Gabriel said in a low, desperate hiss, almost too quietly for Jack to hear. “Your other mark is mine.”

Jack’s stomach crashed into the floor and he went dead still. His heart pounded hard and wild in his chest. His thoughts were loud and big, the visceral fantasies from his time at the Id Center resurrecting in fireworks, all those hours locked in his room pretending Gabriel was pinning him to his mattress, the dreams of Gabriel knotting him, the desperate wish that Gabriel could want him back. Jack was at a complete loss as to how to process that that unreachable fantasy had an anchor in real life all this time.

“It fucked up your priorities,” Gabriel was saying. “It fucked up your ability to think straight.”

“The doctors said it wasn’t a bond bite,” was all Jack could think to say. “They said it wasn’t a complete mark.”

“I thought if I left, you’d— I’m sorry. _Fuck_.” Gabriel pulled back to meet his eyes. Jack deserved better than his cowardice. “I am so sorry.”

They stared at each other for a short, stressful eternity, the darkening blue of Jack’s eyes burning into Gabriel’s.

“…A bond bite needs intent behind it…” Jack said with dawning comprehension. He clutched two tight handfuls of Gabriel’s hoodie, knuckles against ribs. “The biter has to want…”

“…has to want to keep you,” Gabriel finished, shame creeping into every inch of him.

Jack could feel minute tremors from Gabriel’s hand, which now rested on his nape. That small, intense point of connection was mesmerizing. The proximity that had been overwhelming moments ago enveloped Jack like a warm blanket.

Although his heart thudded with the terror that Gabriel would twist away, Jack slowly tilted his face up. The tip of his nose dragged over Gabriel’s cheek. Watching him, Gabriel didn’t move. Jack nudged forward just a bit, closing the distance between their mouths, starving for the honeyed cedar scent he’d soaked in for so many years.

Their lips touched, dry and warm and electric.

The callused hand on the back of Jack’s neck tightened. Gabriel could feel Jack’s pulse rushing under his palm. He had to stop this. Jack’s breath feathered into his mouth.

With a broken-off gasp, Gabriel’s resolve shattered. He opened into the kiss, allowed the wet heat of their mouths to meet.

A tight noise of need caught in Jack’s throat and it sent a coil of fire spiraling through Gabriel. Tilting his head, Jack drew him in deeper. Gabriel’s beard rasped over Jack’s chin. Their lips grew slick. Their bodies warmed beneath their clothes.

As Jack’s arms began to encircle him, Gabriel turned his head and grabbed at Jack’s wrists.

“Stop.” He rasped. “No. I can’t…”

Jack stiffened, every limb turning to ice, an abyss yawning beneath him. He sensed the rest of his life looming, barren and gray and tedious. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that he should be allowed this tiny taste only to have it taken away.

But then Gabriel, his voice rough with emotion, insisted: “I can’t do this to you.”

Jack’s heart blazed like a birthday cake crowned with a hundred candles.

“You’re not doing anything to me,” he said in a rush. “I lied earlier. That time when I asked you to—”

“That was the stupid bite warping your perception. Like it’s warping it now.”

“It’s not—”

“I’ve already fucked up your life enough. I’d give anything to undo it. I’d—

“You don’t understand. You _don’t_.” Jack wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s middle and brought their foreheads together, desperate to keep him close.

“I bit you without permission,” Gabriel gritted out in shame. His distressed exhalation swelled into both their ribcages.

“Gabriel. I’ve been in love with you since I was 14.”

“Jack…”

“I’ve _always_ wanted you.”

Gabriel wasn’t sure how to believe that, but he wanted to. God, he wanted to. With excruciating hope, he searched Jack’s face for the truth of what he was saying. Finding it in those rich blue eyes, a brilliant star-bright and sun-painful joy ripped through Gabriel’s veins.

The emerging elation on Gabriel’s face made Jack feel loved and wanted, _entirely_ loved and _entirely_ wanted, for the first time in his life. It was a look that made Jack’s breath snag in his throat. It was a look Jack hadn’t even let himself dream of, sure that the disappointment of never seeing it would kill him.

Gabriel observed the fear and the hurt tentatively recede from Jack’s expression, and knew he’d die before letting Jack feel that way again.

All those emotions so stringently caged and contained broke free at once. All that need. All that pent-up longing. Gabriel crushed their mouths back together, barriers crumbling like dry bamboo in a bonfire. Jack’s tongue teased along the ridge of Gabriel’s teeth and then stroked over his tongue, velvet and molten, and it would never be enough. Jack tasted perfect – that coffee and fresh cut grass scent with its blood-copper insistence that this man belonged to him. The strength and insistence in Jack’s hold, the way he retained some control over the kiss even as he succumbed to it, lit firecrackers in Gabriel’s bones.

Their instincts were static in the background, a muddled crackle that was certain this was wrong but couldn’t pin down the reason. Because it also felt so astonishingly right. Like spring sunshine after winter. Like cool water on a hot day. Like home.

Gabriel’s heat stirred, boiling him from the inside out, seeking the same pheromonal arousal in Jack and finding it. It was a call and response that he should have only been able to feel with Genji or Jesse, with his bondmates.

Since the omegas that marked them were absent, their ruts hit a natural ceiling that prevented them from being consumed by a frenzy. That didn’t stop Jack from feeling like he was going to burn to ash under the bruising insistence of Gabriel’s mouth.

Joy bucketed down his spine to pool in his groin. Jack became bolder, greedy for everything. His hands pushed up underneath Gabriel’s hoodie and shirt, enraptured by the muscles under his touch. _Yes_ , his blood sang. That dangerous dark edge pulled him onward. He pressed a thigh between Gabriel’s legs, insanely gratified to find him hard.

A bit of friction made Gabriel hiss Jack’s name – in surprise or warning, Jack didn’t care. He maneuvered Gabriel onto one of the loveseats and shamelessly settled onto his lap, letting the bulges in their jeans grind together. Gabriel grabbed at Jack’s hips, then his ass, dragging him down, the pressure on his dick deleting his coherence.

A strange, almost manic gleam shone in Jack’s eyes as Gabriel humped up into him. He leaned forward, harsh breath brushing over Gabriel’s kiss-swollen lips. Goosebumps rose on Gabriel’s skin at the growl of Jack’s voice.

“You knotted me.”

Fire pooled fast in Gabriel’s gut, though whether it was shame or lust or both, he wasn’t sure. He gave a jerky nod. Half-expecting Jack to demand an apology, Gabriel groaned in the back of his throat as teeth closed over his earlobe.

“Do you remember doing it?” Jack pressed, the words hot against the shell of Gabriel’s ear.

He fumbled to answer. “Not really. Just flashes, some images.”

“Tell me,” Jack rumbled, grinding down.

“Fuck.” Gabriel’s hips lifted in response. “Your collar hit my teeth.”

“Mm.” Jack’s mouth sucked a sensitive mark into the tender skin just below the ear.

“You felt so good, hot and tight…”

Gabriel trailed off, thoroughly distracted by Jack lapping a slow, wet trail across his throat to his other ear. An alpha’s teeth this close to his jugular vaulted Gabriel’s adrenaline through the ceiling even as pleasure crackled inside him.

“Go on,” Jack breathed, arousal straining his voice.

Gabriel swallowed. “There was this moment where your body gave into it, like you were made for my dick…”

Gabriel felt Jack thumb open his jeans, then a broad, warm hand sliding into them, and any thoughts of threat popped like bubblegum.

“ _Ah—_ I hear the sounds you made, all the time in my dreams,” Gabriel panted out. “Snarls, then yowls and whines.”

Through Gabriel’s underwear, the heel of Jack’s palm pressed lightly into where his knot was starting to swell. Gabriel squirmed, luxurious bolts of pleasure zinging up his nerves. It was all he could do to claw Jack’s jeans open in return.

Jack’s Henley rode up, revealing a chiseled stomach. Gabriel’s fingers raked down it, then dove beneath the waistband of his briefs and wrapped around Jack’s cock, relishing in the silky hardness of it. The burgeoning knot throbbed at the contact, as peach pink as Gabriel remembered.

Jack groaned, his teeth pressed to Gabriel’s bottom lip. “Make me make those sounds again.”

Gabriel’s instincts whirled in a delirious loop, from irritation at an alpha giving him orders to glee at what he was being ordered to do: take control.

Gabriel caught his mouth in another searing kiss and Jack melted into it. It was all he ever wanted. His dick twitched in Gabriel’s hold, moisture drizzling from the tip.

Enamored with how vulnerable Jack was, Gabriel freed his own cock from the confines of his underwear and directed Jack’s other hand to it. The touch of his fingers set Gabriel’s knot swelling fast.

Foreheads together, both their faces burned red as they watched the strokes of the other, fingers grazing and grips tightening, the pleasure boiling hotter with every squeeze and pull.

The door opened.

The smell of cardamom, charcoal and a hint of his own coffee-like scent hit Jack’s brain like a sledgehammer. He looked over to see Ana standing there, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

The silence was excruciating.

The shock on Ana’s face gradually dwindled as she assessed the scene in front of her. Clearing her throat, she closed the door to her office, locked it and walked over to the small desk.

“Mei,” she said into the intercom. “Cancel the rest of my appointments for today.”

 _“All of them?”_ The beta stuttered in distress. _“Oh gosh, that’s going to be terribly messy…”_

“I know,” Ana said, very aware of Jack and Gabriel stumbling to their feet and zipping themselves back into their jeans. “But I have a family matter that needs to be dealt with.”

Sex pheromones clogged the air. She huffed the smell from her nose, strode towards the other sofa and took a seat with the solemn majesty of a displeased queen.

“Sit,” she ordered.

Intestines twisting in gluey apprehension, Jack moved to obey. But Gabriel grabbed his hand.

“So, you’re Jack’s omega,” he sneered, scanning Ana from head to toe. “Let me guess – you wanted a handsome, healthy alpha’s genes in your pack and weren’t going to let his homosexuality stop you from getting what you wanted.”

“It’s not that simple, Gabe,” Jack defended.

Ana raised her eyebrows, not at Gabriel’s aggression but at the possessive hold he had on Jack’s hand. A possessive hold Jack was submitting to.

“Are you challenging my claim on my alpha?” She asked, lips curving in amusement.

It was a ludicrous notion. An alpha couldn’t claim another alpha. It would be like permitting a child to adopt another child. Gabriel knew there was no legal way for him to keep Jack, even if his very blood was screaming at him to do so. All he could do was bare his teeth.

“Ana offered me a deal,” Jack said, then went on to explain the details.

“Why would you ever accept that?” Gabriel asked.

Jack shrugged, a wealth of sadness in the small movement. “You were gone. I don’t know. I couldn’t see myself with anyone else. I figured it was better than a labor mill.”

Gabriel let out a heavy sigh, his gaze returning guiltily to the bitemark he’d planted in Jack’s neck.

With her sharp eyes and shrewd mind, Ana noticed. The pieces clicked into place.

“Jack, you told me you didn’t know who bit you,” she reproached. “I suppose I should have guessed it was the Gabriel Reyes you talked so much about.”

“I didn’t know until now,” Jack insisted, a hint of fear creeping into his voice. “Gabe didn’t do it intentionally. There was a frenzy on the compound. Please don’t have him arrested or put down.”

“Gracious, Jack, why the hell would I do that?” Ana asked, genuinely bewildered.

Jack and Gabriel blinked, bewildered that she was bewildered.

She shook her head with a soft laugh. “I forget sometimes how sheltered you were at the Id Center. Now, are you going to sit so we can talk about this like adults?”

Still unwilling to relinquish Jack’s hand, Gabriel warily sat across from the omega woman whose bite decorated the other side of Jack’s neck.

“You’re kind of freaking me out, Ana,” Jack admitted. “Shouldn’t you be more upset?”

“If we were actually in a sexual marriage, I might be but…”

“I more mean that—well, isn’t it illegal for alphas to give other alphas bond bites?”

“Technically, no. However, there are other laws that make it virtually impossible – like how an O can only list one A and one B on legal registries and insurance forms, that sort of thing. Obviously, American society is quite prejudiced about this, but hell, that doesn’t mean AA relationships don’t exist. Though of course, places like the Id Center would certainly like to pretend that’s the case.” Ana paused for a moment. “I must apologize, Jack. I dislike the whole practice of keeping alphas out of the loop ‘for their own good’, but it seems I neglected to inform you of these sorts of things.”

With a pang, Gabriel thought of Genji’s flagrant dismissal of the need to keep him informed. And the threat to send him away. Ana was quickly establishing herself as an omega Gabriel could not only respect but like. Genji would never respond to this situation with such composure. Gabriel didn’t know what to do. He was desperate to keep Jack in his life, but he had no clue how to even bring something like this up with his mates. His mind floundered in an endless, yearning blank.

When Ana spoke next, he latched onto the self-assurance in her voice, instinctually relieved the O in the room had a handle on things.

“Jack, I have another proposal for you. And I think you’ll like this one better than the last.” She strolled back over to the intercom. “Mei, please ask Zenyatta to come to my office.”

#

The original plan was to meet with Genji and Jesse at home that evening, but Gabriel objected for several reasons. He didn’t think Genji would take well to being cornered on his own territory, he didn’t want Elena and Etsuko exposed to what was bound to be a volatile discussion, and he was embarrassed at the run-down state of their house.

Zenyatta, a slender Nepalese man who was the most beta beta Gabriel had ever encountered, benignly offered to collect Genji and Jesse to bring them to Overwatch.

Gabriel’s nerves chewed his insides as he waited for them to arrive. Here was yet another crossroads where he could lose his daughters and his home, now with the additional fear that he could lose Jack forever too. What scared him more than anything was that his biology would betray him, as it had the first time he met Genji. He couldn’t let himself reject Jack again; it would kill them both.

Zenyatta’s office was the chosen meeting place. It was infused with the beta’s calming pheromones, plus there were three couches. Ana and Reinhardt sat on one, Jack and Gabriel on the other. When Zenyatta led Genji and Jesse in, he graciously offered them the final sofa, insisting he was fine to stand.

Genji paused at the threshold, slightly hunched on his crutches. Like Ana, he immediately registered Gabriel and Jack’s joined hands.

“Well…” Jesse drawled. “This is more awkward than a pussy cat showin’ up to a dog show. How ya been, Jack?”

“Better than you apparently,” Jack said with concern. “What the hell happened to your arm?”

“That’s a story for another time, I expect,” he replied, shooting Gabriel a questioning glance.

No sooner had he and Genji sat than Zenyatta handed them cups of tea. Genji held his stiffly and addressed the other omega in the room.

“What is going on?”

Ana thanked them for coming and introduced herself and Reinhardt before efficiently summarizing the situation. She finished with her proposal:

“As neither of us are in a position to provide a healthy sexual outlet for our alphas, I believe it would be beneficial for all if we unofficially merged our families into a pack. It’s unconventional, but it would also provide more support for you in these trying times.”

“Just because an A accepted an insulting proposal from you, you think you can get me to accept one too?” Genji spat. “I’m crippled, not braindead. And I have no intention of just handing over the shredded remains of my pride and authority.”

“I’m not trying to take your pride from you,” Ana countered. “Though if your definition of authority is doing whatever you want with no regard to the impacts of your family, I would suggest an attitude adjustment.”

Gabriel and Jesse winced at her parental tone, knowing it would trigger rather than subdue Genji. And it did.

“Oh, forgive me,” he sneered. “Of course. The best thing for my family would be to proclaim to the world my inability to fuck and to leach off the life insurance of another omega’s dead mates. Who needs dignity when you have money?”

“You’re being very unreasonable about this,” Ana said.

“Unreasonable? Last time I had a discussion about the direction I was supposed to be leading my family, Jesse and I nearly lost our lives! It’s not my problem you married an A you can’t fuck and now want me to go along with your stupid proposal to let my alpha cheat on me just so you don’t have to feel guilty for wanting to marry a hetero B.”

Ana glared. Jack was unintentionally growling in the back of his throat at the aggression aimed at his omega and Gabriel felt his hackles rise in response. If Jack threatened Genji, Gabriel’s instincts would give him no choice but to defend Genji.

Hands loosely folded in front of him, Zenyatta piped up, “You nearly lost your lives? That must have been terrible. What happened?”

The genuine, calm concern made Genji pause. “My father had my alpha brother attack us when I refused to return to Japan and marry some women they wanted me to add to my pack.”

“That must be incredibly difficult to sit with,” Zenyatta said, sincere and understanding. “I can’t imagine how betrayed and angry you must feel. No wonder this discussion is uncomfortable for you.”

Genji looked away. “I’m sick of being told how to live my life and run my family. I’m sick of not being good enough for anyone.”

“Darlin’, you’ve always been good enough for me and Gabe,” Jesse said, nudging a knee into his.

“Not recently,” Genji argued. “I can barely fucking walk. I can’t satisfy my alpha to the point where he’s seeking to fuck another alpha to stay sane. I can’t find an income to provide for you all. What good am I to anyone?”

“S’been a rough year, won’t deny it, but it’s just a bump in the road, not the end of it all,” Jesse assured.

“Accepting this pack-merger would basically confirm what my father told me. That I’m not fit to have my own family,” Genji said bitterly, shaking his head.

“I don’t want to take your family from you, Genji,” Ana said quietly. “I know firsthand how painful that is.”

Genji’s shoulders sank. He looked tired. Far too tired for his young age. At length, he mumbled, “Extra support might not be the worst idea.”

“Might I suggest a condition for this proposal?” Zenyatta asked.

“Please do,” said Ana.

“Perhaps it would be best to start on a provisional basis with the option to dissolve the arrangement if it’s not working. That way no one feels unduly obligated.”

Ana nodded. “A good plan. We can put together a contract.”

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Genji snapped.

“What type of conditions would you include for such an arrangement?” Zenyatta asked.

Genji mulled it over. His dark eyes landed on the two alphas.

“One, I don’t want us all living in the same house. Whatever happens during the day, Gabriel comes home to us and Jack goes home to you.”

“That’s reasonable,” Ana said. “Would you be okay to relocate nearer to our neighborhood?”

“I’ll think about it,” Genji said. “Two, Jack’s not allowed overlay his bite on top of mine or Jesse’s.”

The muscles in Jack’s jaw tightened, but he nodded.

“Three,” Genji continued. “Jesse must chaperone whenever Gabriel and Jack fuck.”

“Fine,” Gabriel said immediately.

Both Genji and Jesse appeared taken aback. It occurred to Jack that they’d expected Gabriel to refuse. Genji might have even been banking on it. Doubtless Gabriel’s vocal dislike of a supervising beta had made itself known throughout their marriage. That he hadn’t hesitated to overthrow that preference for a chance to keep Jack spoke volumes.

Gabriel squeezed his hand and Jack couldn’t fight a small smile.

#

One year later, Fareeha was screaming.

“It’s not _fair_! You can’t always win!” She hollered loud enough to rouse Echo from a deep sleep on the games room couch.

With a baleful glare, the sleepy cat padded over to join Reinhardt on the window seat, where he was engrossed in a pulpy romance novel. The afternoon sun shone on the dainty bitemark inlaid into the crook of his neck.

Genji grinned at Fareeha and put the controller down. “Get good then.”

“Gahhh!” She clearly wanted to launch her little body at him but stamped her feet instead.

Her self-control charmed him. The first time he beat her at a game and she tackled him in retaliation, it strained a muscle in Genji’s still-recovering back. Fareeha had been desperately sorry about it. She fluttered around him for weeks, running between her mother’s house and his own next door to bring him snacks and check up on him.

“Reinhardt, how’s it looking down there?” Genji called.

Reinhardt dragged his eyes away from the page and turned his attention out the window. “Jack and Jesse managed to light the barbecue finally, though appear to be arguing about how to cook the steaks.”

“I wanna see!” Fareeha said, scrambling over Reinhardt’s bulk and again disturbing a very grumpy Echo. “Why aren’t _you_ cooking?”

Reinhardt let out a beleaguered sigh. “Because I’m not supposed to cook at my own birthday party, apparently.”

“But you always want to cook. And you should do what you want on your birthday! Come on! Let’s go!” She yanked at his hand until he climbed to his feet with a laugh and followed her downstairs.

Genji stretched out on the couch, grateful that each limb extended to its limit without creaking too much. There was a twinge in his back, but a few painkillers would keep it manageable throughout the party.

Footsteps approached and Gabriel’s cedar and honey reached his nose. The texture of his scent had shifted a bit this past year, incorporating elements of the myriad other members of their unconventional pack. Genji sometimes missed the period after he’d married Gabriel and before their daughters had been born, when his and his spouses’ scents were an uncomplicated, strongly woven plait.

“Hey,” Gabriel rumbled.

Genji opened his eyes to see the alpha leaning over the back of the couch and met his lips in an unhurried, affectionate kiss.

Genji huffed in amusement as Gabriel straightened up. “You taste like Jack. You spend all morning sucking him off or what?”

Gabriel smirked. “Had to motivate him to chop vegetables somehow.”

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway reached them.

“That’ll be Ana and the twins with Rein’s cake,” Gabriel said. “C’mon, lazy.”

Genji yawned but hopped up to traipse downstairs after Gabriel.

The afternoon was sunny but not too warm. Fareeha was already in her swimsuit and splashing around in the pool. Elena and Etsuko were giddily thrusting bouquets of helium balloons towards Reinhardt, who thanked them effusively until their dark eyes shone with delight. Meanwhile, a quarrel erupted over the grill.

“You’re turnin’ perfectly good steak into shoe leather!” Jesse groused, spatula aiming for the sizzling meat.

“They’re still raw in the middle,” Jack argued, smacking the spatula away with his own.

“That’s the damn point!”

Ana, passing by en route to the kitchen with the giant cake box, gave Gabriel a chagrined look. “We’ll never eat at this rate. It’ll be the Thanksgiving fiasco all over again.”

Overhearing, Reinhardt grimaced and waved Genji over to him. “Will you help the fräuleins tie up the balloons while I correct the misguided chefs?”

Reinhardt injected himself between the two men at the grill, attempting to mollify tempers and coax them away from barbecue duty, but the volume of the debate only rose.

Gabriel took a different tactic. He sidled up behind Jack and planted a kiss onto the scar left by his own teeth.

Jack bristled in irritation, tempted to elbow the other alpha in the ribs, but then Gabriel purred:

“You owe me for earlier.”

A greedy heat rushed through Jack’s veins at the rigid promise pressed into his backside. He flushed, aware that all adults present could smell how quickly his arousal spiked. But ever since Jack was 14, Gabriel had had the ability to make the whole world disappear until nothing else mattered. Jack leaned into the broad hand splayed on his hip, knowing what those fingers alone could do to him. He didn’t resist as Gabriel began to tug him across the lawn towards Genji’s house.

“Come on, Jesse. You know the rules,” Gabriel tossed over his shoulder.

“You manipulative son of a bitch,” Jesse growled.

“Can’t hear you!” Gabriel called. “I’ve gone feral. Might fuck Jack straight through a window if you’re not there to supervise.”

Jack snorted out a laugh.

“Language,” Ana admonished, though their daughters were too distracted by the balloons to pay attention.

Gabriel slung an arm around Jack’s shoulders and whispered filthy things into his ear as they crossed the grass. Grumbling, Jesse accepted a cold beer from Genji and ambled after them.

Genji handed Ana and Reinhardt a beer each as well. The three of them clinked bottles and raised a toast to the beta, who was already focused on salvaging the sirloin on the grill. The two omegas slipped on sunglasses, settled into pool chairs and relaxed. It was going to be a lovely afternoon.

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING!!! Honestly, getting to write for and engage with the R76 community has been one of the few things keeping me sane this year. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your kudos and kind comments <3 Love you all to bits


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